, nt  tUt  llK0%fe,/ 

(■!  ■ 2 i. 

PRINCETON,  N.  J. 

Purchased  by  the  Hammill  Missionary  Fund. 

F 2 2 1 

Division  ' / ' n ' 1 

Section  • W s3 

7 

Number 

Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2016 


https://archive.org/details/spanishamericanr00chil_0 


[See  p.  425- 


CORPS  DE  GARDE. 


THE 


SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS 


BY 

THEODORE  1 CHILD 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 

HARPER  & BROTHERS,  FRANKLIN  SQUARE 


Copyright,  iSgi,  by  Harper  & Brothers. 


All  rights  reserved. 


PREFACE. 


The  reader  will  find  in  the  following  pages  a plain  narrative  of  observa- 
tion and  travel  in  the  more  accessible  parts  of  the  five  important  republics  of 
Spanish  South  America,  Chili,  Peru,  the  Argentine,  Paraguay,  and  Uruguay. 
The  writer  neither  encountered  nor  sought  adventures;  his  object  was  not  to 
explore  unknown  territory,  but  rather  to  examine  the  actual  state  of  the  town 
and  country  populations  in  the  year  1890;  to  study  the  commercial  and  social 
life  of  the  capitals  and  ports ; to  see  how  people  live  and  labor  in  the  rural  dis- 
tricts ; to  give  an  account  of  the  various  special  industries  ; to  describe  the  real 
aspect  of  the  countries  in  question  ; to  note  the  characteristic  features  of  the 
inhabitants;  and,  in  short,  to  make  a modern  report  of  the  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion south  of  the  equator. 

Throughout  the  book  more  attention  is  paid  to  humanity  than  to  nature; 
nevertheless,  nature  has  not  been  neglected,  and  many  pages  have  been  de- 
voted to  the  grandiose,  terrible,  or  charming  phases  of  the  landscape  of  the 
Andes,  Smyth’s  Channel,  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  and  the  great  rivers  like  the 
Parana  and  Paraguay.  Very  little  has  been  said  about  Indians,  and  not  a sin- 
gle story  will  be  found  of  scalping  incidents,  or  hair-breadth  escapes  from  the 
hands  of  savages.  The  reason  is  that  unless  the  traveller  goes  far  away  from 
the  domains  of  civilization  and  colonization,  he  will  not  see  many  wild  Indians 
still  living  in  a primitive  state ; while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  innumerable 
Indians  and  half-breeds  who  form  the  mass  of  the  native  population  in  the  in- 
terior of  the  republics  are  peaceful,  indolent  people,  who  profess  the  Roman 
Catholic  faith,  wear  Manchester  goods,  and  differ  from  thousands  and  thou- 
sands of  Europeans  chiefly  in  the  color  of  their  skin  and  in  the  Mongolian  cast 
of  their  features.  The  South  Americans  who  are  of  interest  to  us  dwellers  in 
the  long-settled  regions  of  the  earth  are  the  men  and  women  who  are  engaged 
in  the  slow  and  mysterious  task  of  creating  civilization,  and  of  struggling 
against  the  obstacles  that  nature  has  accumulated  in  the  path  of  man  : they 
are  the  Creoles,  the  descendants  of  the  old  Spanish  conquistadores  and  set- 
tlers, the  ancient  population  of  Indians  as  they  have  been  modified  by  the 
influence  of  the  conquerors  and  of  the  Jesuits,  and,  finally,  the  hordes  of  Euro- 
pean colonists  who  have  been  transported  from  Spain,  Italy,  and  France  dur- 
ing the  past  forty  years,  and  who  have  been  the  instruments  in  the  great 


VI 


PREFACE. 


movement  of  development  and  modernization  which  has  called  the  attention 
of  the  contemporary  old  world  to  the  rapid  and  curious  transformation  of  the 
new.  The  looks,  the  ways,  the  manners,  the  aspirations,  the  capabilities,  the 
morals,  the  achievements  of  these  men  are  worth  describing  and  analyzing. 
The  sociological  experiments  that  are  being  made  in  the  limitless  territories 
of  South  America  are  novel  and  often  disheartening.  You  find  there  the 
strangest  mixture  of  extreme  modernity  and  of  mediaeval  backwardness;  of 
luxury  and  misery;  of  exterior  refinement  and  persistent  inner  barbarity;  of 
impatient  material  appetites,  and  of  averseness  to  moral  restraint.  The  three 
centuries  of  Spanish  rule  seem  to  have  left  little  except  traditions  of  indolence 
and  venality;  the  wars  of  independence  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  cen- 
tury brought  to  the  front  a new  class  of  native  adventurers  whose  ambition 
was  rarely  noble,  and  whose  selfish  designs  kept  the  country  in  a state  of  per- 
turbation for  many  years , meanwhile  the  generous  idea  that  prompted  the 
independence  movement,  and  remained  as  a leaven  in  the  land,  urged  the  pa- 
triots to  enter  upon  the  paths  of  imitation.  Hence  came  the  adoption  of  the 
North  American  Constitution  in  the  organization  of  the  new  republics  of  the 
South,  but  at  the  same  time  the  absence  of  civic  qualities  in  the  inhabitants 
and  the  personal  ambition  of  the  creole  element  combined  to  make  these  re- 
publics mere  political  mockeries.  In  the  two  greatest,  Chili  and  the  Argen- 
tine, the  republican  farce  is  being  gradually  played  out,  but  the  end  of  oligar- 
chy and  of  personal  rule  has  not  yet  come,  and  years  must  pass  before  the 
mass  of  the  citizens  can  become  thoroughly  awakened  to  a sense  of  their  du- 
ties and  their  rights. 

While  the  political  evolution  of  the  Spanish  American  States  is  being  ac- 
complished in  the  midst  of  unsurpassed  cynicism  and  corruption  on  the  part 
of  the  public  men  and  functionaries,  the  facilities  of  modern  communication, 
and  the  commercial  enterprise  of  older  nations,  have  made  the  inhabitants 
eager  imitators  and  ready  purchasers  of  all  the  novelties  of  civilization.  Great 
material  prosperity  has  given  them  private  riches ; European  capital  has  pro- 
vided them  with  public  means  ; and  so  we  find  vestibule  trains  that  carry  pas- 
sengers to  a group  of  wretched  huts,  telephones  that  put  the  wilderness  in 
communication  with  a village,  luxurious  marble  palaces  hobnobbing  with 
thatched  ranchos,  magnificent  steam-boats  whose  gilded  saloons  are  crowded 
with  bronzed,  dirty,  mate-sucking  humanity,  or,  as  I noted  in  the  capital  of 
Paraguay,  cows  grazing  in  the  grass-grown  streets  with  electric  lamps  swing- 
ing over  their  heads.  The  spirit  of  imitation  and  feverish  haste  to  become 
civilized  after  the  model  of  the  most  modern  examples  of  Europe  and  North 
America  have  produced  many  strange  contrasts  in  these  distant  lands,  and  at 
the  same  time  they  have  made  of  the  great  cities,  like  Montevideo  and  Buenos 
Ayres,  most  interesting  monuments  of  nineteenth  century  urban  development. 
In  the  rural  districts,  however,  even  in  the  provincial  capitals  of  the  old  colo- 
nial days,  but  more  especially  in  the  new  colonies  where  the  scum  of  Spain  and 
Italy  has  been  deposited  in  ever-increasing  numbers  during  the  past  twenty 


PREFACE. 


vii 

years,  one  sees  aspects  of  humanity  that  fill  one  with  sadness  rather  than 
with  satisfaction  or  even  hope.  There,  indeed,  one  realizes  what  toil,  efforts, 
patience,  invention,  imagination,  talent,  and  genius  have  been  needed  to  build 
up  the  edifice  of  very  imperfect  and  still  little  better  than  incipient  civiliza- 
tion which  has  rendered  this  earth  more  or  less  habitable.  There  in  the  wilds 
of  the  Argentine,  in  the  solitudes  of  the  Gran  Chaco,  in  the  damp  and  drip- 
ping verdure  of  the  extreme  South  of  Chili,  or  in  the  luxuriant  forests  of  Para- 
guay, one  sees  the  horror  of  unsubdued  nature,  the  felicity  of  the  beasts  of  the 
field  compared  with  the  misery  of  man,  the  fierceness  of  the  struggle  of  the 
human  animal  against  the  hostile  elements,  the  hopeless  desolateness  of  crea- 
tion until  the  idealization  of  the  artist  and  the  explanations  of  the  scientist 
have  put  into  it  grace,  beauty,  elegance,  and  mystery.  From  Tierra  del 
Fuego  to  the  flowery  mountain  solitudes  of  Peru  we  can  see,  as  it  were,  the 
laboratory  of  South  American  civilization,  and  watch  all  its  phases  and  pro- 
cesses, beginning  with  the  naked,  shivering  Indians  of  Smyth’s  Channel,  who 
have  only  recently  learned  the  use  of  fire,  and  culminating  in  the  opulent  cre- 
ole lady  of  Montevideo,  who  goes  to  the  opera  in  a coupe  drawn  by  a team  of 
Russian  trotters,  wears  toilettes  by  Worth  and  a diamond  aigrette  by  Bouche- 
ron,  and  still  remains  a very  incomplete  and  primitive  creature  contrasted 
with  the  ultra-refined  and  alarmingly  complex  ladies  of  London,  Paris,  or  Pe- 
tersburg. 

In  the  various  chapters  of  this  volume  an  attempt  has  been  made  to  pre- 
sent a vivid  and  modern  image  of  progressist  Spanish  America  in  all  its  agree- 
able and  disagreeable  features,  its  feverish  energy  and  its  traditional  indolence, 
its  fierce  material  appetites  and  its  lack  of  sentiment,  its  promiscuous  and  agi- 
tated present,  its  dreams  of  the  future,  and  its  reminiscences  of  the  past. 


August,  1891. 


Th.  C. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I.  page 


En  Route 1 

CHAPTER  II. 

From  Buenos  Ayres  to  Mendoza !4 

CHAPTER  III. 

Across  the  Andes 3° 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Agricultural  Chili 

CHAPTER  V. 

Urban  and  Commercial  Chili 

CHAPTER  VI. 


Coal-mining  in  Chili J39 

CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Nitrate  Desert  of  Tarapaca 151 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Impressions  of  Peru  . ^3 

CHAPTER  IX. 


Smyth’s  Channel  and  the  Strait  of  Magellan.  — A Coasting  Voyage  in 

Southern  Latitudes 227 

CHAPTER  X. 

The  Argentine  Capital 261 

CHAPTER  XI. 


Argentine  Provincial  Sketches  : 

Bahia  Blanca 3°5 

The  City  of  La  Plata 3 1 5 

Argentine  Politics  and  Administration 326 


X 


CONTEXTS. 


CHAPTER  XII.  page 

Up  the  River  ParanI 343 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Republic  of  Paraguay 366 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

The  Republic  of  Uruguay 404 


EPILOGUE 


434 


I LLUSTRATIONS. 


Corps  de  Garde Frontispiece 

Buenos  Ayres  from  the  River 3 

The  “Casa  Rosada,”  the  Residence  of  the 
President  and  Seat  of  the  Ministries,  on  the 

Plaza  Victoria,  Buenos  Ayres 5 

The  Calle  Reconquista,  in  the  centre  of  the 
Business  Quarter,  Buenos  Ayres  ....  7 

The  Government  House,  Buenos  Ayres  . . 9 

A Business  Block  on  the  Calle  Piedad,  Buenos 

Ayres II 

Map  of  the  Argentine  Republic 15 

Port  of  Rosario  . 18 

Calle  General  San  Martin,  Mendoza  ...  21 

At  a Railroad  Station,  Mendoza 23 

Hotel  Club  Social,  Mendoza 25 

Country  Hut 27 

Ruins  of  San  Augustin 28 

Map  of  Route  across  the  Andes 31 

Roping  Cattle  at  Punta  Negra 35 

Paso  del  Vermejito 37 

Crossing  the  Rio  Blanco 39 

The  Inn  at  Punta  de  las  Vacas 41 

Valle  de  las  Cuevas 43 

Puente  del  Inca 45 

Good  Specimen  of  Casucha 47 

Cumbre  de  la  Cordillera 48 

Aconcagua  Valley  near  Los  Andes  ....  50 

Los  Loros  (Chili  side) 53 

Laguna  del  Inca 55 

Junction  of  the  Rivers  Juncal  and  Blanco 

(Chilian  side) 57 

Hotel  Court-yard  in  Los  Andes 63 

A Chilian  Country-house 65 

Urmeneta  Vineyard 70 

A Vaquero 73 

At  a Railway  Station 77 

Irrigation 80 

Landscape  near  Angol 87 

Araucanian  Indian  Hut,  and  Loom  for  Weav- 
ing Guanaco  and  other  Woollen  Stuffs  . . 91 


PAGE 

Ox  Cart,  Traiguen 93 

Port  and  Town  of  Talcahuano 95 

Concepcion  : the  Plaza  and  Water-carriers  . 98 

Concepcion  : Calle  del  Commercio  ....  99 

Central  Railway  Station,  Santiago  ....  102 

Archbishop’s  Palace  and  Cathedral,  Santiago  . 103 

Calle  del  Puente,  Santiago 105 

In  the  Arcades,  Santiago 107 

Woman  Car  Conductor,  Santiago 109 

The  Cousino  House,  Santiago 113 

Procession  of  Corpus  Christi,  Santiago  . . .115 

Santa  Lucia 1 1 7 

The  Alameda 119 

The  Plaza  at  Night,  Santiago 121 

Chamber  of  Deputies,  Santiago 127 

The  Arturo  Prat  Monument,  Valparaiso  . . 132 

The  Passenger  Mole,  Valparaiso 135 

Lota — the  Smelting-works  and  Mole  . . . 141 

Types  of  Miners 144 

Bahia  Chambique,  Lota 146 

Lota  Baja 148 

The  Cousino  House,  Lota 149 

Unloading  Freight  on  the  Beach  at  Iquique  . 152 

Nitrate  Desert  of  Atacama 155 

Map  of  the  Nitrate  Desert  of  Tarapaca  . . 159 

Trucks  laden  with  Caliche 165 

Making  a “ Tiro  ” in  the  Nitrate  Bed  . . . 167 

Trucks  over  Crushers  at  “ La  Primitiva  ” . .170 

Trucks  bringing  Caliche  to  Boiling  Tanks  . . 172 

A Caliche  Cart 175 

Pretty  semi-Bolivians 178 

Loading  Cattle  on  a Steamer 184 

Cholo  Types 186 

Plaza  Mayor,  Lima 187  ' 

The  Cathedral,  Lima 189 

Church  of  La  Merced,  Lima 192 

The  Cloister  of  San  Francisco,  Lima  . . . 193 

Torre  Tagle  House,  Lima 195 

Milk-woman 196 

Water-seller 197 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


xii 


On  the  Desemparados  Bridge,  Lima  .... 

Llamas  on  a Plantation 

Sierra  Indian 

The  Oroya  Railway — Crossing  the  Verrugas 

Bridge 

The  Oroya  Railway — Hand-car  Descending  . 
Map  of  the  Railways  and  Mineral  Lands  of 

Peru  and  Bolivia 

Harbor  of  Corral 

Valdivia 

Near  North  Entrance  of  Smyth’s  Channel, 

Looking  back  Northward 

Shipping  Ice  in  Grappler  Reach 

Molyneux  Sound 

Indians  Visiting  the  Ship  at  Night  .... 

Cape  Pillar 

Glacier,  Latitude  53°  21'  South,  Longitude 

720  55'  West 

Cape  Froward  and  Mount  Victoria  .... 

Punta  Arenas 

Mount  Sarmiento,  Highest  Point  of  Tierra  del 

Fuego  

Fur  Dealers  on  Board  at  Punta  Arenas  . . . 

Fuegians 

Patagonian  Indian  Woman 

Patagonian  Indians 

Lecheros 

Street  Porters 

Shoeblacks 

Plaza  San  Martin 

Entrance  to  the  Government  House  .... 

The  Cathedral  after  Service 

Escuela  Petronila  Rodriguez 

The  New  Docks 

La  Boca 

Palermo 

Pelota  Players 

At  the  Confiteria  del  Aguila 

Prairie  Schooner 

Bahia  Blanca,  New  Mole 

Rocking  Stone,  Tandil 

Gauchos 


The  Government  Building 3x6 

Entrance  to  the  Unfinished  Park 317 

Shipping  at  La  Boca 3jg 

Ship-yards  at  La  Boca 321 

The  Governor’s  Palace 323 

On  the  Lower  Deck  of  the  Steamer  ....  344 

Soldiers  and  Recruits 347 

A Water-carrier 351 

Juarez  Celman  Port 354 

Village  on  the  Paraguay  River 356 

Cabildo  and  Plaza  at  Corrientes 358 

Loading  Oranges  at  San  Antonio  ....  361 

La  Chacarita 383 

Street  in  Asuncion 386 

Cottage  in  Asuncion 388 

Funeral  of  an  “Angelito”  in  the  Recoleta 

Cemetery 389 

View  of  the  Lopez  Palace  from  the  River  . . 392 

Plaza  Libertad,  Asuncion 393 

Soldiers  and  their  Women  at  the  Barracks  . . 394 

The  Market,  Asuncion 395 

Inside  the  Market 397 

Type  of  Guarani  Girl 398 

View  on  the  River 400 

An  Estancia 402 

Map  of  Uruguay 407 

A Rancho 41 1 

Santa  Lucia 413 

Water-carrier 415 

Canariote  Immigrants  in  the  Street  ....  417 

The  Old  Fortress 419 

The  Stock  Exchange,  Montevideo  ....  420 

Hotel  Victoria 423 

A Guard  Station 425 

Calle  18  de  Julio,  Plaza  Matriz,  Club  Uru- 
guay   426 

Government  House,  on  Plaza  Independencia  . 427 

Palacio  Municipal 427 

The  Cemetery 428 

Villa  at  Paso  del  Molino 429 

Sea-bath  at  Pocitos 431 

Teatro  Soils 432 


PAGE 

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312 

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3i4 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


CHAPTER  I. 


EN  ROUTE. 


E\V  of  the  visitors  who  saw  the  numerous  and  brilliant  pavilions 


of  the  South  American  republics  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1889 
had,  I imagine,  other  than  the  vaguest  ideas  concerning  the  where- 
abouts, the  real  aspect,  the  political,  commercial,  and  social  features, 
of  the  countries  in  question.  These  pavilions  themselves,  so  diversi- 
fied in  their  architecture,  and  so  similar  in  their  contents,  imparted 
in  turn  only  vague  ideas.  In  all  of  them  the  same  distribution  might 
have  been  remarked.  In  the  place  of  honor  was  exhibited  the  por- 
trait of  a dark-skinned  parvenu  President,  in  most  cases  a military 
person  dressed  in  a gorgeous  general’s  uniform,  and  looking  like  a 
sturdy  sergeant  whose  sudden  rise  to  high  fortune  had  put  a heavy 
strain  upon  his  limited  intelligence.  Under  the  eye  of  this  adminis- 
trator were  displayed  bags  of  coffee  and  cocoa ; tobacco ; cereals ; 
bales  of  wool ; tanned  hides ; saddlery,  ornamented  with  a profusion 
of  silver-work;  specimens  of  timber;  samples  of  gold,  silver,  and  cop- 
per ores;  collections  of  tropical  fauna,  reptiles,  and  insects;  a few 
photographs;  tables  of  bewildering  statistics  — the  whole  giving  the 
impression  of  a new  world  inviting  the  activity  of  the  children  of 
the  old  one ; of  an  exuberant  and  unkempt  world,  where  nature  still 
dominated  man,  and  where  the  vegetation  of  the  primeval  forests,  ra- 
diant and  irresistible  with  interlaced  roots  and  monstrous  tendrils, 
covers  and  smothers  the  soil,  rendering  it  hirsute  and  unconscious. 

Chief  among  the  South  American  pavilions  was  the  vast  and  lux- 
urious palace  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  whose  crystal  dome  with 
blue  stripes,  and  whose  walls  of  dazzling  faience  incrusted  with  im- 


1 


2 


THE  SPANISH-AMEklCAN  REPUBLICS. 


mense  cabochons  of  colored  glass,  attracted  all  eyes,  and  challenged 
attention  like  a huge  chromo- lithographic  advertisement.  At  night, 
when  electricity  illuminated  the  jewelled  splendor  of  its  walls,  this 
palace  evoked  souvenirs  of  The  Arabian  Nights.  The  interior  orna- 
mentation, too,  was  equal  to  the  exterior;  painted  windows  and  fres- 
cos signed  by  the  most  famous  French  artists  adorned  the  walls, 
within  which  were  displayed  the  agricultural,  sylvan,  and  mineral  prod- 
ucts of  the  republic,  whose  limitless  domains  were  represented  on 
an  enormous  relief  plan  placed  at  the  head  of  the  staircase,  and  sur- 
rounded with  formidable  columns  of  statistics.  What  wealth ! what 
immensity!  what  unparalleled  rapidity  of  development!  Within  ten 
years,  it  appeared  from  the  stupendous  statistical  tables  exhibited  on 
the  walls,  the  population  of  the  Argentine  Republic  had  increased 
from  two  and  a half  millions  to  four  millions ; the  exterior  commerce, 
from  400  millions  of  francs  to  1 200  millions ; the  railway  system, 
from  1950  kilometres  to  7500  kilometres.  The  capital,  Buenos  Ayres, 
which  ten  years  ago  had  about  200,000  inhabitants,  has  now  nearly 
half  a million.  A new  town,  La  Plata,  which  did  not  exist  even  in 
embryo  seven  years  ago,  now  boasts  countless  palaces  and  60,000 
inhabitants.  The  United  States  of  North  America  never  advanced 
so  rapidly  as  this.  What  a wonderful  country  this  must  be ! 

Such  was  the  burden  of  my  souvenirs  and  reflections  when,  on 
December  17,  1889,  I went  on  board  the  Paraguay , bound  from  Havre 
to  Buenos  Ayres,  with  the  intention  of  seeing  something  of  the  Ar- 
gentine and  of  other  South  American  republics.  Theories,  views,  or 
prejudices  found  no  place  in  my  baggage.  I knew  as  little  about 
South  America  as  most  people  who  have  learned  geography  from 
books  and  maps  alone.  I started  full  of  curiosity,  artless,  ingenuous, 
trustful  even,  except  in  the  matter  of  statistics.  On  this  point,  I 
confess,  I had  prejudices;  the  tabular  statements  of  the  Champ  de 
Mars  had  failed  to  convey  to  my  mind  any  clear  ideas  about  South 
America.  The  much-vaunted  eloquence  of  figures  had  only  filled  me 
with  weariness.  In  my  own  observations  I would  therefore  avoid  the 
snares  and  pitfalls  of  graphics  and  curves  and  arithmetical  puzzles ; I 
would  simply  go  and  see  men  and  things  in  these  distant  lands,  talk 
with  natives  and  foreigners,  and  record  carefully,  in  as  luminous  prose 
as  my  pen  could  command,  such  impressions  as  it  might  be  my  good- 
fortune  to  receive.  With  this  resolution  I took  up  my  quarters  on 
the  Paraguay , belonging  to  the  French  company  of  Les  Chargeurs 


EN  ROUTE. 


3 


Reunis,  and  armed  myself  with  patience  to  endure  a sea-voyage  of 
twenty-three  days  and  upward  of  six  thousand  miles. 

We  started  on  a dull,  cold,  wintry  evening,  with  the  consoling 
prospect  of  soon  reaching  warm  latitudes,  and  of  arriving  at  our  des- 
tination at  the  other  end  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  in  the  height 
of  the  midsummer  heat.  It  was  dark  when  the  ship  weighed  anchor 
and  steamed  slowly  out  of  dock  past  the  splendid  panorama  of  the 
town  lighted  with  garlands  of  gas-lamps,  and  dotted  here  and  there 
along  the  quays  with  red,  blue,  and  green  lanterns,  and  dazzling 
electric  globes  that  fling  long  and  rippling  sheets  of  white  reflections 
over  the  glossy  black  waters.  In  the  confusion  of  departure  there  is 


BUENOS  AYRES  FROM  THE  RIVER. 

not  much  to  be  noted.  We  all  have  our  thoughts  elsewhere  than  on 
board,  and  it  was  not  until  the  next  morning  that  I was  able  to  in- 
spect the  ship  and  her  human  load.  The  Paraguay , 3500  tons,  had 
her  full  complement  of  passengers  and  emigrants,  who  numbered,  to- 
gether with  the  crew,  about  five  hundred  souls  in  all.  She  carried 
also  some  thirty  carriage- horses,  including  six  magnificent  Anglo- 
Normans  addressed  to  the  Governor  of  the  province  of  Cordoba,  and 
accompanied  by  a tall,  bony,  red-faced  Norman,  who  had  trained  them 
to  run  a la  Daumont  in  six  weeks,  and  who  was  very  anxious  to  land 
them  safely  on  the  other  side.  “ Ce  sera  tin  grand  sucees  pour  moi , 
monsieur ,”  he  said.  “ My  colleagues  will  say,  ‘ Ce  Pelletier , a-t-il  de 
la  chance  / ’ ” 

In  the  course  of  the  day  I became  acquainted  with  those  of  the 
first-class  passengers  who  were  not  suffering  from  sea-sickness  or  in- 
fluenza. With  few  exceptions  they  were  Argentines,  and  several  of 
them  had  held  official  positions  in  connection  with  the  Paris  Exhibi- 


4 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


tion.  However,  as  the  wind  continued  high  during  the  first  four 
days  of  the  voyage,  and  the  ship  rolled  heavily,  there  was  not  much 
opportunity  for  conversation,  but  on  the  fifth  day  out  the  weather 
became  soft  and  spring-like,  the  ladies  appeared  at  table,  and  in  the 
afternoon  the  French  and  Italian  emigrants  on  the  foredeck  were 
dancing  to  the  sounds  of  an  accordion.  Henceforward  all  went 
gayly  and  happily  between  eating,  sleeping,  novel-reading,  card-play- 
ing, conversation,  loafing,  and  basking  in  the  sun.  On  December 
24th  we  reached  Teneriffe,  and  while  the  ship  was  taking  in  coal  we 
went  on  shore,  breakfasted,  took  a walk  through  the  picturesque 
little  town  and  the  lovely  gardens  of  the  environs,  full  of  orange- 
trees  laden  with  golden  fruit,  bananas,  roses,  and  other  brilliant 
flowers,  behind  which  rise  hills  covered  with  green  velvety  vegeta- 
tion and  dotted  with  white  houses.  This  vision  of  charming  fertil- 
ity,  and  tranquil,  unambitious  felicity,  made  a pleasant  interruption 
in  our  voyage,  which  was  resumed  at  three  in  the  afternoon,  when 
we  steamed  away,  watching  the  changing  silhouettes  of  the  islands 
and  the  grand  snow-capped  peak  of  Teneriffe,  that  remained  in 
view  until  darkness  enveloped  it.  At  night  a new  panorama  met 
our  eyes.  The  deep  violet  sky  was  studded  with  countless  stars ; 
the  horizon  formed  a clearly -defined  circle,  in  the  centre  of  which 
was  the  ship,  vaulted  over  with  the  spangled  cupola  of  the  firma- 
ment; to  the  right  the  slender  crescent  of  the  new  moon  shed  a 
silvery  glow  over  the  dark  waves.  As  the  ship  glided  along  with 
panting  engines  the  view  from  the  stern  was  grandiose.  On  the 
foremast  all  sail  was  spread,  and  formed  a dead  black  mass  against 
the  sky ; the  other  masts  and  rigging  stood  out  in  sharp  black  out- 
line ; the  decks  were  all  in  darkness,  except  a glare  that  rose  from 
the  skylights  of  the  engine-room.  Thus  night  after  night  the  Par- 
aguay steamed  onward  in  solitude,  her  black  sails  swelling  proudly 
against  the  dark  blue -black  sky,  studded  with  brilliantly  glittering 
stars  that  seemed  closer  than  they  appear  in  more  northern  climes. 

Day  after  day  and  night  after  night  we  continued  our  voyage  with- 
out incident  across  the  watery  waste,  through  the  tropics,  and  out  of 
the  tropics ; and  day  by  day  my  surprise  increased  as  I talked  with 
my  Argentine  fellow -passengers,  who  were  unanimous  in  declaring 
the  national  and  provincial  governments,  the  national  and  provincial 
banks,  the  municipalities,  and  everything  connected  with  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  country,  to  be  full  of  corruption  and  thievery.  “ Our 


EN  ROUTE. 


5 


THE  “CASA  ROSADA,”  THE  RESIDENCE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT  AND  SEAT  OF  THE 
MINISTRIES,  ON  THE  PLAZA  VICTORIA,  BUENOS  AYRES. 


towns,”  they  told  me,  “abound  in  men  who  have  suddenly  become 
rich,  and  whose  only  desire  is  to  make  an  ostentatious  display  of  their 
ill-gotten  gains.  Witness  all  the  horses  we  have  on  board,  notably 
the  six  for  the  Governor  of  Cordoba.  That  man  is  a mere  gaucho , a 
peasant,  an  ignorant  brute.  He  has  heard  that  in  Europe  people 
drive  four-in-hand  a la  Daumont.  ‘ Very  good,’  he  says;  ‘ I will  drive 
a carriage-and-six and  we  have  the  carriage-and-six  on  board,  and 
the  liveries,  and  the  Louis  XV.  wigs  for  the  postilions.  This  Gov- 
ernor of  Cordoba  is  the  brother  of  the  President  of  the  republic, 
Dr.  Juarez  Celman,  who  had  not  a penny  when  he  came  into  office 


6 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


in  1886,  and  who  now  has  a fortune  of  more  than  ten  millions  ster- 
ling safely  deposited  in  the  Bank  of  England.” 

One  of  the  lady  passengers,  Madame  X.,  a Frenchwoman  who,  I 
am  told,  keeps  a fashionable  store  at  Buenos  Ayres,  is  very  severe  in 
her  criticisms  of  the  native  women,  whose  toilets  have  no  secrets  for 
her.  She  tells  me  that  the  women  have  no  domestic  qualities,  that 
the  trying  on  of  a new  dress  reveals  fearful  neglect  of  all  that  is  not 
outside  show,  that  the  luxury  of  fine  linen  is  not  appreciated,  and  I 
know  not  what  besides.  Finally  Madame  X.,  who  professes  a great 
admiration  for  Alfred  de  Musset,  and  affects  romantic  airs  in  spite  of 
her  pronounced  mustache,  winds  up  her  lamentation  with  the  regret 
that  intellectual  life  is  entirely  wanting  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and  adds 
that  the  men  are  mal  eleves  and  think  too  much  of  themselves. 

Another  passenger  that  interested  me  was  a venerable  Spanish 
gentleman,  who,  I was  informed,  has  lived  thirty  years  in  the  Argen- 
tine, and  now  acts  as  financial  inspector  in  the  interests  of  some  Pari- 
sian bankers  having  large  stakes  in  the  Argentine.  This  gentleman 
was  in  the  habit  of  delivering  a moral  and  economical  discourse  every 
morning  between  eight  and  nine  o’clock,  and  the  burden  of  his  ser- 
mon, which  was  invariably  approved  by  all  the  Argentines  on  board, 
was  the  immorality  of  the  population  of  the  republic,  encouraged  and 
countenanced  by  the  cynicism  and  immorality  of  the  Government. 
Salvation  can  come  only  from  an  honest  government.  Meanwhile,  as 
it  is,  everybody  wants  to  make  money  rapidly,  everybody  speculates, 
and  everybody  lies.  For  those  who  have  any  delicacy,  any  conscience, 
any  commercial  morality,  Buenos  Ayres  is  no  place.  During  the  past 
fifteen  years  the  present  crisis  has  been  in  preparation.  The  directors 
of  the  national  and  provincial  banks,  who  have  been  and  still  are 
scampish  politicians,  have  speculated  with  the  funds  of  the  banks, 
using  the  deposits  as  a political  treasury  when  necessary,  and  as  a 
private  treasury  whenever  there  was  a stroke  of  business  to  be  done. 
The  curse  of  the  Argentine  is  politics,  inasmuch  as  the  whole  object 
of  the  politicians  is  to  make  their  fortunes  while  they  are  in  office. 
The  great  danger  for  the  republic  is  the  cessation  of  immigration 
through  want  of  confidence. 

All  this  depreciatory  and  alarming  talk  of  the  financial  agent  was 
corroborated  by  his  Argentine  listeners,  who  each  and  all  had  in- 
stances to  relate  in  illustration  of  this  and  that  abuse.  Indeed,  from 
morning  until  night  these  Argentines  talked  about  nothing  but  poli- 


EN  ROUTE. 


7 


tics  and  finance  and  the  price  of  gold.  “ But  why  do  you  not  do 
something?”  I asked  them.  “Are  you  not  citizens  of  a republic? 
Are  you  not  voters?  Have  you  no  political  organization?  To  judge 
from  the  accounts  you  give  me,  your  President,  Juarez  Celman,  ought 
to  have  been  impeached  long  ago,  and  half  of  your  political  men 
lynched.”  To  these  inquiries  I failed  to  obtain  any  satisfactory  an- 
swer, but  remained  with  a vague  impression  that  the  Argentine  Re- 


THE  CALLE  RECONQUISTA,  IN  THE  CENTRE  OF  THE  BUSINESS  QUARTER,  BUENOS  AYRES. 


8 


THE  SPAXISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


public  must,  after  all,  be  nothing  more  nor  less  than  a hydra-headed 
despotism.  How  strange  ! And  how  little  had  the  polychrome  pa- 
vilion of  the  Champ  de  Mars,  with  its  ostentation  of  progress  and 
riches,  prepared  me  for  this  idea!  However,  it  would  be  foolish  to 
anticipate.  In  a few  days  I would  be  able  to  judge  for  myself. 
Doubtless  my  Argentine  fellow- passengers  were  exaggerating  the 
evils  of  their  country,  I said  to  myself;  the  more  so  as  while  they 
speak  evil  of  the  Government  they  are  loud  in  the  praise  of  the  nat- 
ural wealth  and  countless  charms  of  the  country,  and  especially  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  whose  streets,  parks,  theatres,  promenades,  public  build- 
ings, social  life,  and  material  organization,  they  assure  me,  are  as  fine, 
and  in  many  respects  even  finer,  than  those  of  Paris.  But  on  this 
point  I am  inclined  to  be  sceptical,  for  these  very  Argentines  have 
told  me  that  it  is  a characteristic  of  the  gaucho , or  native  peasant,  to 
be  astonished  at  nothing,  and  to  remain  unmoved  in  the  belief  that 
the  Argentine  Republic  is  the  grandest  and  finest  country  in  the 
world.  To  judge  from  conversation  with  many  of  the  young  Argen- 
tines on  board  who  have  been  visiting  Europe  for  the  first  time,  and 
making  the  tour  of  the  great  cities  and  show-places  of  the  Old  World, 
I am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  more  cultivated  of  them  are  very 
much  like  the  rustic  gaucho:  nothing  can  astonish  them. 

At  last,  on  January  7th,  we  noticed  that  the  water  was  no  longer 
of  the  deep  violet -blue  color  that  we  had  contemplated  for  so  many 
days,  but  rather  of  a greenish  tone,  indicating  that  we  were  ap- 
proaching our  journey's  end.  The  next  morning,  January  8th,  we 
woke  up  at  daybreak  to  find  the  water  of  a brownish -yellow  shade, 
and  full  of  the  sand  of  the  vast  Rio  de  la  Plata,  which  discolors  the 
ocean  for  many  leagues  beyond  the  entrance  of  the  estuary.  Soon 
the  sand-dunes  of  the  coast  of  Uruguay  became  visible,  then  some 
low  hills,  and  in  the  distance  round- topped  mountains  of  barren  as- 
pect, forming  a dismal  landscape  of  yellow  and  black  masses,  with  a 
cold  blue  sky  overhead  and  an  expanse  of  dirty  brown  water  in  the 
foreground.  “ On  voit  bicn  que  cest  un  pays  sauvage!"  exclaimed 
one  of  the  Parisian  emigrants,  when  he  caught  this  first  glimpse  of 
the  South  American  continent,  and  without  stating  the  elements 
on  which  he  based  this  hasty  judgment,  he  turned  his  back  to  the 
El  Dorado  and  resumed  his  game  of  cards.  Gradually,  as  we  ad- 
vanced, signs  of  life  appeared  on  the  shore : white  homesteads  and 
cattle,  then  the  town  of  Maldonado,  with  its  light- house,  and  at  last 


EN  ROUTE. 


9 


THE  GOVERNMENT  HOUSE,  BUENOS  AYRES. 


the  Cerro,  or  hill,  at  the  foot  of  which  is  the  bay  and  town  of  Mon- 
tevideo. The  panorama  is  charming  seen  from  the  point  where  the 
ship  anchors,  fully  two  miles  from  the  shore,  in  the  roads  crowded 
with  vessels  from  all  parts  of  the  world.  To  the  left  is  a hill  crown- 
ed with  a fort,  then  the  bay  full  of  small  craft,  and  to  the  right  the 
old  town,  covering  with  a mass  of  white  houses,  towers  and  cupolas, 
the  slopes  of  a turtle-back  peninsula.  The  situation  of  the  town  is 
admirable,  and  seen  from  a distance  it  has  something  of  an  Oriental 
aspect. 

Here  I left  the  Paraguay , which  had  to  remain  at  least  forty- 
eight  hours  to  discharge  cargo,  and  which,  like  all  the  ocean  steam- 


IO 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


ships,  would  in  any  case  anchor  in  the  river  fifteen  miles  from  Buenos 
Ayres.  It  is  far  more  convenient  to  proceed  from  Montevideo  to  the 
Argentine  capital  on  one  of  the  river  steamers,  the  more  so  as  these 
steamers  now  enter  the  dock,  and  passengers  are  able  to  step  direct- 
ly on  shore  without  being  subjected  to  the  disagreeable  process  of 
transshipment  by  means  of  small  boats  or  of  carts,  as  was  still  the 
case  when  I reached  the  country  for  the  first  time. 

After  spending  a few  days  at  Montevideo,  then  in  the  height  of 
the  bathing  season,  I took  passage  on  one  of  the  steamers  of  the 
Platense  Flotilla  Company,  which  holds  a practical  monopoly  of  the 
navigation  between  Montevideo  and  Buenos  Ayres,  and  of  the  rivers 
Parana,  Paraguay,  and  Uruguay.  These  steamers — large  side -wheel 
ships  built  in  Glasgow,  with  light  draught  of  water  and  canoe-shaped 
ends,  expressly  devised  for  navigating  in  rivers  full  of  sand -banks 
and  shallows — are  anchored  at  a distance  of  a few  hundred  feet  from 
the  quay,  but  as  Montevideo,  although  one  of  the  greatest  commer- 
cial ports  of  the  world,  does  not  yet  possess  a decent  pier  or  docks, 
or  any  conveniences  for  passengers,  tribute  has  to  be  paid  to  porters 
and  boatmen,  who  row  you  to  the  foot  of  the  inadequate  gangway 
of  the  steamer.  Having  secured  my  berth  in  a very  small  cabin,  I 
proceeded  to  examine  the  ship,  although  the  narrowness  of  the  lob- 
bies and  passages  makes  circulation  difficult,  especially  when  they 
are  crowded  with  people  — correctly  dressed  men,  and  many  striking 
women  and  girls  wearing  showy  clothes,  and  much  occupied  with 
their  own  beauty.  Threading  my  way  leisurely  through  the  throng, 
and  pestered  at  every  turn  by  bawling  newspaper  boys,  who  cry,  “ La 
Tribuna , La  Razon,  El  Dial  Quiere  un  diario,  patron?”  I observe 
that  some  few  cabins  are  roomy  and  neatly  fitted  up;  the  saloons 
are  enriched  with  an  exuberance  of  mirrors  and  gilding;  the  dining 
table  is  laid  with  a certain  display  of  glass,  plate,  and  glassware,  and 
in  each  napkin  is  placed  a dainty  button -hole  bouquet.  The  menu 
cards  also  are  remarkable  for  their  wealth  of  chromo-lithography  and 
gilding.  The  panels  of  the  dining-room  are  painted  in  a manner 
which  bears  witness  to  the  influence  of  aesthetic  Hampstead  on  mod- 
ern Scotch  decorative  art.  Throughout  the  ship  is  lighted  by  elec- 
tricity, and  in  every  available  spot  is  written  the  motto  of  the  com- 
pany, “ Res,  non  verbal'  I was  soon  enabled  to  ascertain,  however, 
that  the  Platense  Company  does  not  live  up  to  its  motto  in  the 
serving  of  dinner.  The  table  is  showy,  the  menu  is  full  of  the  names 


EN  ROUTE. 


1 1 

of  pretentious  dishes,  but  there  is  very  little  material  food,  and  that 
little  is  poor  in  quality  and  badly  prepared.  The  service,  too,  is 
execrable.  The  waiters  prance  round  the  table,  and  throw  bits  of 
food  on  the  plates  just  as  they  might  do  if  they  were  feeding  wild 
beasts  in  a menagerie.  Subsequent  experience  on  many  occasions 
confirmed  my  first  impressions.  The  Platense  boats  offer  fair  ac- 
commodation, and  doubtless  as  good  as  the  average  passenger  in 


A BUSINESS  BLOCK  ON  THE  CALLE  PIEDAD,  BUENOS  AYRES. 


12 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


those  waters  deserves,  but  they  cannot  be  compared  for  roominess, 
comfort,  and  well -ordained  service  with  the  North  American  river 
steamers,  or  with  the  new  ships  of  the  Chilian  and  English  com- 
panies on  the  Pacific  coast.  These  steamers,  plying  between  Mon- 
tevideo and  Buenos  Ayres,  a distance  of  120  miles,  start  from  each 
port  between  five  and  seven  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  arrive  early 
the  following  morning.  The  journey  being  performed  by  night,  there 
is  no  scenery  to  be  admired.  For  that  matter,  navigation  in  La 
Plata  resembles  navigation  on  the  sea,  the  river  being  fortv  leagues 
broad  at  its  mouth,  and  eight  leagues  broad  at  the  level  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  so  that  as  soon  as  you  lose  sight  of  the  port  and  hill  of  Mon- 
tevideo, illuminated  with  the  glow  of  sunset,  you  find  yourself  in  an 
apparently  limitless  expanse  of  brown  water,  on  which  mav  be  seen 
floating  here  and  there  patches  of  weeds,  lilies,  and  even  trees  that 
form  floating  islands,  or  camalote , as  the  native  name  has  it.  The 
next  morning  you  arrive  at  Buenos  Ayres,  the  ship  is  moored  to  the 
quay  of  the  South  Darsena,  and  a two-horse  carriage  conveys  you 
and  your  luggage  in  half  an  hour  to  the  heart  of  the  greatest  capi- 
tal of  South  America.  Thanks  to  the  recent  opening  of  the  new 
dock,  all  the  worry  and  danger  of  landing  in  small  boats  and  in 
water-carts  at  the  old  Passenger  Mole  have  become  ancient  history. 
The  Passenger  Mole  has  been  demolished,  and  the  brigandish  boat- 
men forced  to  find  some  other  occupation.  In  short,  passengers  can 
now  land  without  risk  of  life  or  limb,  and  the  only  brigands  against 
whom  they  have  to  battle  are  the  coachmen. 

To  my  mind  nothing  is  more  unnecessary  in  travelling  than  a 
fixed  plan;  it  interferes  with  the  play  of  the  unforeseen,  and  impedes 
the  evolution  of  those  latent  ideas  and  aspirations  which,  if  left  free 
to  work  out  their  course,  will  guide  the  patient  wanderer,  like  a kind 
genius,  to  the  realization  of  many  a half-forgotten  day-dream.  When 
I landed  at  Buenos  Ayres,  in  the  beginning  of  January,  1890,  after  a 
three  weeks’  voyage  from  Europe,  I intended,  first  of  all,  to  visit  vari- 
ous places  in  the  Argentine  Republic.  The  first  few  days  that  one 
passes  in  a new  country,  strange  both  in  aspect  and  language,  are 
always  a little  bewildering ; gradually,  however,  the  ear  grows  accus- 
tomed to  the  sounds,  the  tongue  becomes  loosened,  the  key  to  the 
plan  of  the  streets  is  revealed,  together  with  the  tram-way  system,  and, 
with  the  help  of  obliging  native  acquaintance,  the  new-comer  finds 
out  hospitable  restaurants,  bath-houses,  cafes,  promenades,  and  re- 


EN  ROUTE. 


13 


sources  of  material  comfort,  which  enable  him  to  recover  his  self-pos- 
session and  to  reflect  calmly  over  his  own  condition  and  that  of  his 
surroundings. 

After  a busy  week  in  the  Argentine  capital  I came  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  moment  was  unfavorable  for  observation.  It  was  mid- 
summer. Everybody  of  any  social  pretensions  was  out  of  town,  either 
in  the  country  or  at  the  new  and  fashionable  sea-side  resort,  Mar  del 
Plata.  The  city  was  momentarily  bereft  of  animation ; the  famous 
drive,  Palermo,  about  which  I had  heard  so  much,  was  deserted  except 
by  plebeian  families  whom  I saw  picnicking  under  the  trees  and  mac- 
ulating the  grass  with  greasy  papers  and  discarded  bottles,  just  as 
people  do  in  the  countries  of  more  ancient  and  advanced  civilization. 
But  the  fact  which  chiefly  contributed  to  drive  me  away  from  Buenos 
Ayres  was  the  financial  crisis  that  was  paralyzing  the  business  of  the 
whole  republic.  “ Perhaps,”  I said  to  myself,  “ the  situation  will  im- 
prove in  two  or  three  months;  to  describe  impartially  the  present  con- 
dition of  affairs  would  be  an  ungrateful  task.  Let  us  listen  to  the 
inner  voice,  and  see  if  there  is  not  some  other  interesting  trip  to  be 
made  with  advantage  at  this  particular  season.”  And  the  inner  voice, 
the  mouth-piece  of  latent  ideas  and  unforniulated  aspirations,  mur- 
mured the  laconic  programme  : “ From  ocean  to  ocean,  across  the 
Andes.” 

This  suggestion  seemed  to  be  at  once  romantic  and  practical,  De- 
cember and  January  being  the  finest  months  for  crossing  the  Cordil- 
lera. Furthermore,  from  ocean  to  ocean  is  the  programme  of  the 
railway  now  being  constructed  under  the  title  of  the  “ Ferrocarril 
^ Trasandino  de  Buenos  Aires  al  Pacifico,”  which  will  eventually  carry 
passengers  directly  from  the  Argentine  capital  to  the  Chilian  port  of 
Valparaiso,  or,  in  other  words,  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  I 
therefore  determined  to  follow  the  track  of  this  great  transcontinental 
line  as  closely  as  possible. 


CHAPTER  II. 


FROM  BUENOS  AYRES  TO  MENDOZA. 

IN  normal  times  two  routes  are  open  to  the  traveller  crossing  the 
continent : the  railway  Buenos  Aires  al  Pacifico  over  the  Pampa  to 
Villa  Mercedes,  or  the  railway  Buenos  Aires  to  Rosario,  the  Central 
Argentine  from  Rosario  to  Villa  Maria,  the  Andine  Railway  from 
Villa  Maria  to  Villa  Mercedes,  and  thence  to  Mendoza.  I chose,  per- 
force, the  latter  route,  the  Pacific  Railway  being  then  in  course  of  re- 
construction, after  having  been  washed  away  by  floods.  The  line,  I 
may  add,  has  been  raised,  and  is  now  available  for  traffic,  and  offers  the 
most  direct  and  at  the  same  time  most  monotonous  route  across  the 
continent.  It  is  this  line  which,  as  its  name  indicates,  will  eventually 
connect  with  Clark’s  Transandine  Railway,  and  place  Buenos  Ayres 
in  direct  communication  with  Valparaiso.  However,  I was  not  sorry 
to  take  the  other  route,  which  has  the  advantage  of  more  variety  of 
scenery,  and  also  of  passing  through  Rosario,  the  second  city  of  the 
republic  in  population  and  commercial  importance.  So  then  I went, 
with  some  curiosity,  to  the  Central  Station  to  take  my  ticket.  It  was 
my  first  experience  of  railway  travelling  in  South  America.  The 
Central  Station  is  a modest  wooden  building  without  pretensions  of 
any  kind,  and  quite  unworthy  of  the  immense  traffic  which  daily  passes 
through  it.  There  is  no  superfluous  formality  on  the  part  of  the  em- 
ployes or  of  the  public,  and  when  the  train  draws  up  in  the  station 
there  is  a furious  rush  for  places.  The  cars  are  on  the  American 
plan,  with  seats  on  each  side,  and  a gangway  down  the  middle,  ena- 
bling one  to  pass  from  coach  to  coach  the  whole  length  of  the  train. 
No  sooner  have  we  started  than  a man  passes  through  the  car  selling 
books — French,  English,  and  Spanish,  more  especially  translations  of 
Xavier  de  Montepin's  novels,  with  bright  chromo-lithographic  covers ; 
then  comes  a boy  selling  newspapers — La  Prensa , La  ATacion , Le  Cou- 
rier dc  la  Plata , Standard , Herald ; next  follows  a vendor  of  pastillas 
y don-bones , whose  official  title  is  that  of  confitcro,  and  who,  during  the 
seven  hours’  journey,  made  very  frequent  apparitions  in  the  car,  bring- 


ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC. 


FROM  BUENOS  AYRES  TO  MENDOZA. 


1 7 


ing  to  this  one  a cocktail,  to  the  other  an  egg-nog,  and  to  another  a 
tall  glassful  of  soda-water  and  fruit-syrup.  All  this  struck  me  as  being 
commendable,  comforting,  and  comparatively  civilized.  As  for  the 
landscape,  I was  soon  obliged  to  confess  that  it  was  terribly  monoto- 
nous. Near  Buenos  Ayres  the  line  skirts  the  suburb  of  Belgrano, 
where  there  are  many  handsome  villas,  and  then  the  country  becomes 
fiat  and  often  marshy  grazing-land,  beyond  which,  in  the  distance,  you 
catch  a glimpse  now  and  then  of  the  river  Parana.  All  this  land  is 
divided  into  squares,  and  enclosed  with  fences  made  of  crooked  wood- 
en posts  and  three  or  four  lines  of  wire.  Trees  are  very  rare;  occa- 
sionally near  the  river  are  patches  of  reeds,  stunted  willows,  and  low 
shrubs  of  the  acacia  family;  but  generally  the  view  is  limited  to  inter- 
minable pastures,  dotted  with  cattle  and  with  flocks  of  white  birds  of 
the  stork  tribe,  and  black  clouds  of  crows  and  wild-ducks,  while  occa- 
sionally some  great  vulture  or  eagle  is  seen  soaring  in  the  air  waiting 
to  prey  upon  the  carcasses  of  beasts  that  are  strown  alongside  the 
track,  victims  of  the  cow-catcher.  The  small  towns  and  villages  along 
the  line  have  brick  houses,  and  seem  busy  and  prosperous.  At  one 
of  these,  San  Nicolas,  there  was  half  an  hour’s  halt  for  dinner,  and  the 
meal  was  well  served  and  good  in  quality.  Then  the  train  steamed 
onward  through  the  brilliant  summer  evening,  and  at  7.40  p.m.  we  ar- 
rived at  Rosario,  after  a journey  of  seven  hours  and  a quarter  from 
Buenos  Ayres. 

Rosario  is  a vast  business  town,  laid  out  geometrically  with  straight 
streets  and  blocks  of  uniform  dimensions,  and  situated  on  a plateau 
commanding  the  Parana  River.  The  situation  is  admirable,  and  the 
city  is  certainly  destined  to  become  one  of  the  finest  in  South  Amer- 
ica. At  present,  however,  it  is  a doleful  place  for  tourists,  who  require 
only  a few  hours  to  visit  the  Plaza  and  the  public  buildings,  and  to 
stroll  through  the  principal  streets,  where  there  are  some  fine  shops 
and  handsome  business  blocks.  On  one  side  of  the  Plaza  is  a large 
church,  whose  white  dome  and  towers  are  conspicuous  from  afar;  but 
when  you  approach  you  find  that  the  dome  and  towers  are  the  only 
parts  of  the  building  yet  completed ; the  rest  of  the  edifice  is  rough 
brick,  which,  as  I am  informed,  has  been  waiting  for  its  stucco  facing 
for  the  past  eight  years.  But  in  Rosario  nobody  cares  for  churches; 
it  is  a city  of  business  men,  and  particularly  a city  of  young  men,  who, 
after  office  hours,  find  distraction  in  clubs,  bar-rooms,  immense  cafes, 
and  billiard  saloons.  Such  establishments  seem  to  be  peculiarly  fre- 


18 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


quent  in  this  town.  The  port  of  Rosario,  on  the  Parana  River,  is  at 
present  in  a terrible  state  of  disorder,  but  from  morning  until  night 
there  is  a din  of  pile-driving  and  dredging,  and  in  the  course  of  a year 
or  two  we  may  expect  to  see  there  a fine  line  of  quays.  Meanwhile, 
the  quantity  of  ships  anchored  in  the  river,  or  lying  alongside  the 
warehouses  and  wharves,  bear  witness  to  the  commercial  activity  of 
the  town.  Rosario  is  the  natural  port  of  the  provinces  of  the  interior 


PORT  OF  ROSARIO. 


of  the  republic — Santa  Fe,  Cordoba,  Tucuman,  Santiago,  Salta,  and 
Jujuy — with  which  it  is  in  direct  railway  communication.  In  course 
of  time,  too,  railways  will  place  it  in  communication  with  Bolivia  and 
with  Chili.  About  the  great  future  of  Rosario  there  can  be  no  doubt. 
Even  now,  although  its  population  is  only  a little  over  fifty  thousand, 
the  vast  extent  of  the  city,  its  business  ardor,  the  shipping  in  its  port, 
including  vessels  of  the  Messageries  Maritimes,  the  Chargeurs  Reunis, 
and  Lamport  & Holt,  that  come  directly  from  Bordeaux,  Havre,  Ant- 
werp, and  Liverpool,  impress  one  with  the  present  importance  and  the 
greater  future  of  this  modern  and  thoroughly  European  city. 


FROM  BUENOS  AYRES  TO  MENDOZA. 


19 


The  following  evening  I bought  a ticket  for  Mendoza,  and  settled 
myself  for  the  night  in  a commodious  but  very  dirty  sleeping-car, 
built  at  Wilmington,  Delaware.  In  the  morning  I was  disappointed 
to  find  the  landscape  still  flat  and  monotonous  beyond  description, 
less  green  than  in  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres,  but  divided  into 
squares  in  the  same  way  with  posts  and  wire.  The  towns  are  gener- 
ally at  some  distance  from  the  line,  and  their  silhouettes  are  utterly 
unpicturesque.  Towards  Sampacho  I noticed  some  huts  built  of  sun- 
dried  bricks.  In  the  way-side  stations  the  type  of  the  Italian  navvy 
seems  to  predominate,  though  a little  local  color  is  given  by  the  dark- 
skinned  semi- Indian  china  women,  and  by  an  occasional  gaucho,  or 
native  peasant,  wearing  the  baggy  Oriental  trousers,  called  cheripa , a 
leather  waistband  ornamented  with  a profusion  of  silver  coins,  and  a 
short  jacket,  or  else  the  characteristic  South  American  poncho.  To 
my  disgust  the  men  and  women  are  not  more  interesting  than  the 
landscape,  which  becomes  more  and  more  unpicturesque  as  we  pro- 
ceed westward.  The  gray  sun-burnt  plain,  whose  level  monotony  is 
broken  only  by  tufts  of  bunch-grass  and  low  dunes  of  yellow  earth, 
stretches  in  all  directions  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  Hour  after 
hour,  through  blazing  sun  and  blinding  dust,  the  train  jolts  along. 
At  last  we  reach  Villa  Mercedes,  where  we  stop  an  hour.  The  sta- 
tion here  is  crowded  with  gauchos , Indian  women  smoking  cigarettes, 
provincial  ladies  in  Parisian  costumes,  men  wearing  showy  cravats, 
peones , laborers,  farmers,  and  miscellaneous  European  types,  mostly 
with  Latin  features  and  flashing  black  eyes.  The  restaurant  was  full 
of  people  eating  and  drinking  in  democratic  promiscuity,  but  without 
disorder  or  roughness.  The  room  was  immense,  and  at  one  end  was 
an  assortment  of  bottles  and  brands  of  liquors,  beer,  and  refreshing 
drinks,  which  astonished  me  by  its  variety.  In  the  centre  of  South 
America,  at  this  distant  railway  junction,  I was  not  prepared  for  such 
overpowering  evidences  of  urban  civilization.  After  leaving  Villa 
Mercedes  we  enter  the  province  of  San  Luis,  where  there  is  much 
wood  and  very  little  water.  In  the  north  this  province  is  wild,  hilly, 
and  covered  with  timber;  in  the  south  the  bare  pampa  continues,  and 
throughout  it  is  very  thinly  populated  and  very  poor.  The  line 
crosses  the  brown  Rio  Quinto  by  means  of  a suspension-bridge,  and 
then  rises  rapidly  until  the  long  Sierra  de  San  Luis  breaks  upon  the 
view.  All  the  afternoon  we  enjoy  this  pleasant  change  of  picturesque 
prospect.  After  the  exasperating  treeless  flatness  of  the  provinces  of 


20 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


Buenos  Ayres  and  Cordoba,  the  sight  of  hills  and  verdure  and  woods 
is  an  unspeakable  relief.  Still  it  is  a long  and  wearisome  journey, 
and  after  a second  night  spent  in  the  dusty  sleeping-car  it  was  with 
no  little  satisfaction  that  we  heard  the  guard’s  voice  at  five  o’clock 
in  the  morning  crying  “Arriba,  senores,  arriba!"  (Get  up,  gentlemen, 
get  up !)  as  he  passed  through  the  car,  shaking  the  curtains  and  stir- 
ring up  clouds  of  dust.  I pulled  on  my  clothes,  collected  my  hand- 
bags together,  and  then  went  out  on  the  platform  of  the  car  to  smell 
the  fresh  air  and  to  view  the  country.  The  panorama  was  enchant- 
ing. There  were  no  longer  desolate  plains  spreading  out  their  brown 
aridity  farther  than  the  eye  could  reach,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a 
smiling  expanse  of  green  and  fertile  land,  covered  with  a net-work 
of  rivulets  and  irrigating  canals,  which  watered  fields^  of  tall  corn  and 
vineyards  fenced  off  with  walls  built  with  cyclopean  blocks  of  sun- 
dried  earth.  We  were  running  due  west  without  a bend  in  the  line. 
Looking  backward,  at  one  end  of  the  train,  I saw  the  cold  gray 
rails  converging  to  the  vanishing  point  against  the  horizon,  all  aglow 
with  the  vivid  rose-colored  brilliancy  of  dawn;  while  looking  forward, 
I beheld  the  majestic  mass  of  the  Andes  towering  above  the  clouds, 
and  presenting  from  base  to  summit  a variety  of  tones  of  indescrib- 
able softness  and  splendor,  for  the  lower  spurs  were  still  slumbering 
in  deep  blue  semi -obscurity,  although  the  snow-capped  peaks  and 
the  sharp  facets  of  the  upper  ridges  were  already  glittering  in  the 
golden  rays  of  the  sun,  which  struck  the  crowns  of  these  lofty 
mountain  monarchs  long  before  it  rose  above  the  horizon  of  the 
valleys  at  their  feet.  This  was  my  first  glimpse  of  the  Andes,  and 
one  of  the  most  impressive  and  beautiful  visions  that  I have  had 
the  fortune  to  contemplate. 

Mendoza  is  one  of  the  very  few  towns  of  the  Argentine  Republic 
which  produce  at  once  a favorable  impression  upon  the  visitor,  and 
leave  in  his  mind  souvenirs  that  remain  satisfactory — at  least,  from  the 
picturesque  point  of  view.  The  plan  is  the  usual  rectangular  divis- 
ion into  uniform  chess-board  blocks;  the  streets  are  twenty-five  and 
thirty  metres  broad,  with  wide  sidewalks  shaded  by  lofty  and  luxuri- 
ant Carolina  poplars.  There  are  five  large  plazas,  each  planted  with 
trees  and  shrubs ; indeed,  the  town  might  be  described  as  a group  of 
shady  avenues  placed  in  the  centre  of  an  immense  park  or  garden, 
for  the  environs,  stretching  away  to  the  lower  spurs  of  the  Andes, 
are  covered  with  brilliant  green  vegetation,  kept  fresh  even  in  the 


CALLE  GENERAL  SAN  MARTIN,  MENDOZA. 


FROM  BUENOS  AYRES  TO  MENDOZA. 


height  of  the  summer  heat  by  the  abundant  waters  of  the  river  Men- 
doza and  other  natural  and  artificial  streams.  And  this  summer  heat 
is  not  to  be  trifled  with.  Already  at  six  o’clock  in  the  morning  the 
sun  begins  to  sting, 
and  on  certain  days  a 
hot  wind  blows  from 
the  province  of  San 
Juan,  which  would 
render  the  town  un- 
endurable were  it  not 
for  the  shade-trees  and 
the  watercourses,  one 
of  which  runs  alonor 

O 

the  principal  street, 
the  Calle  General  San 
Martin,  partly  through 
an  open  canal  and 
partly  below  the  side- 
walk, which  is  formed 
of  planks  laid  across 
the  stream,  here  con- 
fined in  a brick  aque- 
duct. In  every  street 
fresh -water  is  running  down  the  s;ut- 
ters  night  and  day.  An  evidence  of 
the  heat  met  my  eyes  when  I entered 
the  court-yard  of  the  Hotel  Club  So- 
cial : several  of  the  guests  were  sleep- 
ing in  the  open  air  on  iron  bedsteads 
placed  under  the  colonnade.  This  ho- 
tel consists  of  a handsome  faqade  with 
two  wings,  in  one  of  which  is  the  res- 
taurant, and  in  the  other  a cafe  and 
billiard -room,  a central  patio  planted 
with  trees  and  flowers  and  surrounded 
by  a colonnade,  under  which  are  the 

bedrooms  with  carpeted  floors,  iron  bedsteads,  Louis  XV.  marble- 
topped  tables,  Renaissance  wardrobes,  and  other  comparatively  luxuri- 
ous and  expensive  furniture,  which  one  is  not  prepared  to  see  in  so 


AT  A RAILROAD  STATION,  MENDOZA. 


24 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


remote  a town.  However,  subsequent  experience  accustomed  me  to 
find  in  the  wretchedest  villages  of  the  Argentine,  and  even  in  the 
miserable  cottages  of  the  gauchos , pieces  of  showy  furniture  and  ob- 
jects of  luxury  entirely  out  of  keeping  with  the  surroundings. 

The  hotel,  like  all  the  edifices  in  Mendoza,  is  only  one  story  high, 
built  of  adobe,  or  sun-dried  bricks,  decorated  with  stucco  mouldings 
and  ornaments,  and  painted  white.  This  kind  of  construction  has 
prevailed  universally  since  the  old  city  was  destroyed  by  an  earth- 
quake in  1 86 1.  The  new  city,  situated  to  the  north  of  the  old  one, 
is  of  course  composed  of  modern  buildings  only,  generally  in  good 
order,  neatly  painted,  and  with  considerable  luxury  in  the  wrought- 
iron  gates  of  the  patios  and  in  the  elaborate  iron  gratings  placed 
over  the  windows,  according  to  the  old  Spanish  custom,  which  is  still 
observed  throughout  the  Argentine.  As  for  the  public  edifices,  there 
are  none  worthy  of  special  mention  or  of  a monumental  character. 
The  shops  are  for  the  most  part  vast  bazaars,  with  great  quantities 
of  merchandise  piled  up  to  the  ceiling  on  shelves,  and  without  any 
attempt  at  artistic  window-dressing.  During  the  daytime  the  city  is 
a desert  of  brown  dust  and  glaring  sunlight.  In  the  early  morning, 
however,  there  is  considerable  movement,  especially  in  the  Calle  San 
Martin,  where  you  see  groups  of  mule-drivers  and  mountain  guides, 
bullock- carts  laden  with  square  bales  of  compressed  hay,  wagons 
drawn  by  three  mules  harnessed  abreast,  two -horse  cabs  and  victo- 
rias tearing  along  and  raising  clouds  of  dust.  The  cabs  in  Mendoza 
cost  so  little  that  the  servants  hire  one  to  go  to  market.  Indeed, 
owing  to  the  system  of  one-story  houses,  the  30,000  inhabitants  of  the 
town  are  scattered  over  a great  superficies,  and  the  light  victoria  is  as 
indispensable  there  as  the  drosky  is  in  St.  Petersburg.  In  the  morn- 
ing, too,  you  see  the  country  people  and  gauchos  riding  about  the 
streets,  wearing  the  inevitable  poncho , and  taking  pride  in  the  elabo- 
rate ornamentation  of  their  saddles  and  stirrups.  Outside  the  shops 
groups  of  mules  and  horses  are  seen  tethered.  On  the  sidewalks  are 
women  going  to  or  returning  from  market,  dark-skinned  chinas  with 
more  or  less  Indian  blood  in  their  veins,  wearing  light  cotton  dresses, 
black  shawls  sometimes  drawn  over  their  heads  like  a hood,  and  their 
hair  in  two  long  braids  hanging  down  their  backs.  These  pendant 
braids  I found  to  be  characteristic  of  the  china  and  Indian  women 
in  all  the  parts  of  South  America  that  I visited.  At  night  the  streets 
become  once  more  animated.  The  Calle  San  Martin  and  its  shops 


FROM  BUENOS  AYRES  TO  MENDOZA. 


25 


are  brilliantly  lighted  with  paraffine  lamps.  The  belles  of  Mendoza 
are  seen  making  their  purchases,  and  afterwards  taking  a turn  on 
the  Plaza  Independencia  on  the  nights  when  the  military  band  plays. 
Sunday  afternoon  is  the  great  time  for  the  promenade  along  the 
corso  in  the  Calle  San  Martin,  down  the  centre  of  which  runs  the 
tram-way,  without  which,  by -the -way,  no  South  American  town  is 
complete.  Two  shabby  municipal  employes,  mounted  on  equally 
shabby  steeds,  stand  at  each  end  to  mark  the  limits  of  the  corso,  and 
from  five  to  seven  o’clock  there  is  a continuous  procession  of  pub- 
lic and  private  carriages,  landaus,  barouches,  victorias,  spiders,  each 
drawn  by  a pair  of  horses.  The  young  bloods  ride  up  and  down  on 


HOTEL  CLUB  SOCIAL,  MENDOZA. 


horseback,  smoking  cigarettes  and  displaying  their  fine  clothes.  Sev- 
en, eight,  or  nine  times  the  procession  passes  up  and  down ; then  all 
Mendoza  eoes  to  dine,  and  the  review  recommences  on  foot  on  the 

o 

Plaza  Independencia  between  nine  and  ten.  Meanwhile,  during  the 
afternoon  corso,  we  must  not  forget  to  note  the  windows  of  the 
houses  in  the  Calle  San  Martin  full  of  spectators:  the  front  rooms 
with  whole  families  seated  in  all  the  splendor  of  their  Sunday  clothes, 


26 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  watching  the  movement  of  the  street ; the  sidewalk  in  front  of 
the  Governor’s  house,  where  the  Governor,  his  wife,  his  brother,  his 
daughters,  and  other  relatives,  are  seated  on  chairs  according  to  their 
rank,  while  on  the  opposite  sidewalk  the  military  band  plays  in  their 
honor.  As  for  the  costume  of  the  promenaders,  it  is  absolutely  cor- 
rect: the  men  wear  silk  chimney-pot  hats,  and  the  women  gay  Pari- 
sian hats  and  dresses  of  bright  colors  trimmed  with  a profusion  of 
lace.  Such  is  the  corso,  and  such  is  the  only  amusement  that  the 
Mendocinos  have.  Life  there  is  terribly  dull.  “ C'est  embetant.  II 
riy  a pas  meme  un  beuglant !"  exclaimed,  in  despair,  an  enigmatical 
Parisian  lady  whom  strange  adventures  had  led  to  this  distant  pro- 
vincial capital.  No,  there  is  not  even  a cafe -concert,  and  yet  the 
young  men  declare  that  they  never  go  to  bed  before  two  o’clock  in 
the  morning.  What  do  they  do  ? They  go  to  their  club  and  gam- 
ble. Every  Argentine  is  a born  gambler. 

At  Mendoza  I had  the  good -fortune  to  discover  several  acquaint- 
ances, and  with  their  help  I was  able  to  penetrate  a little  into  the 
provincial  life  of  the  republic.  These  men  were  cattle-breeders  and 
owners  of  vineyards,  the  pastoral  and  viticultural  being  the  two  chief 
industries  of  the  province;  the  vineyards,  I was  informed,  pay  a profit 
of  twenty -five  per  cent,  on  the  invested  capital,  and  the  profits  on 
cattle  exported  to  Chili  and  Bolivia  are  still  higher.  But  what  struck 
me  particularly  in  many  of  these  men  was  their  indifference  as  re- 
gards everything  except  the  pecuniary  results  of  their  industry : the 
vine-growers  leave  their  vineyards  entirely  in  the  hands  of  French 
and  Italian  hired  superintendents,  and  the  cattle-breeders  intrust  the 
management  of  their  estancias , or  farms,  to  a man  who  receives  a sal- 
ary of  $100  a month  and  a small  percentage  on  products.  The  own- 
ers prefer  to  spend  their  time  and  money  in  Mendoza  or  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  the  dream  of  many  is  to  make  periodical  visits  to  Paris. 
They  are  also  eager  to  profit  by  the  advantages  for  speculation  of- 
fered by  the  Banco  Hipotecario.  At  Mendoza,  as  also  in  the  capitals 
of  the  other  important  provinces,  there  are  three  banks,  the  Banco  de 
la  Provincia  and  branches  of  the  Banco  Nacional  and  the  Banco 
Hipotecario,  the  former  being  identified  with  the  opposition  party  and 
working  with  local  capital,  and  the  other  two  being  national  institu- 
tions identified  with  the  party  in  power.  The  Governor  of  the  prov- 
ince and  all  his  political  friends,  I was  informed,  are  able  to  obtain 
abundant  credit  at  the  Banco  Nacional,  and  with  the  funds  thus 


FROM  BUENOS  AYRES  TO  MENDOZA. 


27 


acquired  they  speculate  on  their  own  account,  engage  in  all  kinds  of 
enterprises,  and  having  started  without  a cent  they  become  rich  in  a 
few  years,  thus  following  the  high  example  of  their  lord  and  master, 
the  President,  Dr.  Juarez  Celman.  As  for  the  Banco  Hipotecario, 
any  one  who  is  on  the  right  side  in  politics  gets  mortgages  granted 
on  the  mere  show  of  title-deeds,  without  any  measures  being  taken  to 
verify  his  statements. 

A curious  instance  of  the  intermixture  of  politics  and  business 


COUNTRY  HUT. 


was  that  very  Hotel  Club  Social,  where  I lodged  at  Mendoza.  It  had 
recently  been  sold  for  an  enormous  sum  to  a syndicate  of  half  a dozen 
men,  who  were  all  active  politicians,  and  the  consequence  was  that 
both  the  restaurant  and  the  bar  were  monopolized  by  the  numerous 
political  friends  of  the  various  proprietors,  who  ate  and  drank  on 
credit.  For  that  matter,  it  appeared  that  almost  everybody  in  Men- 
doza was  living  on  credit;  in  the  whole  province,  with  its  110,000  in- 
habitants, there  was  not  one  million  dollars  of  paper  in  circulation, 


28 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  nowhere  was  money  rarer  than  in  the  banks.  It  was  in  vain  that 
the  depositors  presented  their  checks.  “ We  cannot  pay  to-day,”  re- 
plied the  cashier;  “next  week,  perhaps,  we  may  have  some  money.” 
As  for  the  local  railways,  freights  were  at  an  impossible  figure,  owing 
to  the  high  rate  of  gold,  and  furthermore  the  rolling  stock  was  insuf- 
ficient to  transport  the  merchandise  which  sometimes  remained  six 


months  en  route  between 
Rosario  and  Mendoza,  and 
often  disappeared  entirely, 
being:  either  lost  or  stolen. 

Like  the  other  Argen- 
tines whom  I had  met,  I 
found  the  Mendocinos  to  be 
loquacious  and  indefatigable 
critics,  but  there  seemed  to 
be  no  ideas  among  them  of  united  action  and  energetic  citizenship. 
Thus,  disappointed  with  my  first  experience  of  the  republic,  I spent  a 
few  more  days  in  visiting  various  estates,  where  I found  the  employes 
for  the  most  part  living  in  comfortless  and  slovenly  huts;  I visited 


RUINS  OF  SAN  AUGUSTIN.  MENDOZA. 


FROM  BUENOS  AYRES  TO  MENDOZA. 


29 


also  the  famous  Trapiche  vineyard,  belonging  to  Senor  Tiburcio 
Benegas,  which  is  a model  of  order  and  fertility ; and,  last  of  all,  the 
ruins  of  old  Mendoza,  consisting  of  the  shattered  walls  of  the  churches 
of  San  Augustin  and  of  the  Jesuits,  which  rise  in  picturesque  and 
mournful  grandeur  against  the  vast  background  of  green  plain  and 
mountain  solitudes 


CHAPTER  III. 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES 

IN  the  pleasantly  situated  town  of  Mendoza,  with  its  broad  streets 
overarched  with  trees,  I spent  several  days  in  making  arrange- 
ments for  the  journey  over  the  mountains.  In  the  general  stores  in 
the  Calle  General  San  Martin,  that  ubiquitous  hero  of  the  Southern 
republics,  I b'ought  canned  food,  biscuit,  orange  marmalade,  tea,  coffee, 
cigarettes,  matches,  wine,  whiskey,  salt,  a mattress,  a kettle,  and  other 
small  items  necessary  for  a week’s  travelling  in  uninhabited  regions. 
I also  bought  some  stout  leather  leggings,  a fine  pair  of  Chilian  spurs, 
with  a wheel  or  star  rowel  five  inches  in  diameter,  and  a poncho  of 
superior  quality  and  unobtrusive  design,  the  whole  under  the  guid- 
ance of  an  experienced  traveller,  whose  counsel  I found  to  be  most 
excellent.  The  poncho , I must  explain,  is  the  universal  native  gar- 
ment in  Spanish  America.  It  is  a rectangular  piece  of  stuff  with  a 
hole  in  the  middle,  through  which  to  pass  the  head ; it  varies  in  size, 
thickness,  quality,  and  pattern,  according  to  the  season  or  to  the 
means  and  taste  of  the  wearer ; rich  and  poor  alike  wear  the  pon- 
cho, and  a better  and  more  convenient  over-garment  for  riding  can- 
not be  imagined.  Thus  equipped  I proceeded  to  seek  mules,  but  I 
had  considerable  difficulty  in  finding  an  arriero , or  muleteer,  who 
would  undertake  to  go  by  the  path  I wished  to  follow  along  the  south 
side  of  the  Mendoza  River.  The  ordinary  mule-path  to  Chili  goes 
out  to  the  north  of  the  town,  and  always  along  the  north  bank  of  the 
river,  the  usual  halting  stations  being  Villa  Vicencio,  Uspallata,  Punta 
de  las  Vacas,  Puente  del  Inca,  Juncal,  and  Guardia  Vieja.  On  the 
accompanying  sketch  map,  the  first  that  has  ever  been  published  of 
this  now  very  ancient  route  across  the  mountains,  the  reader  will  find 
the  ordinary  road  to  Chili  marked,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
and  occasionally  crossing  it,  the  route  of  the  transandine  railway;  at  the 
same  time  he  will  be  able  to  get  some  idea  of  the  position  of  the  main 
mountain  ranges  and  of  the  height  in  metres  of  the  principal  points, 
while  other  conventional  markings  indicate  the  nature  of  the  ground. 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


31 


Well,  after  obtaining  letters  of  introduction  to  the  engineers  of  the 
various  sections  of  the  line,  and  complete  particulars  for  my  guidance, 
I tried  arriero  after  arriero , but  all  in  vain.  Some  said,  without 
further  explanation,  that  it  did  not  suit  them  to  go  that  way.  “No 
me  conviene,  senor .”  Others  pleaded  ignorance  of  the  way.  Next  to 
a mule  itself,  I believe  that  there  is  no  more  obstinate  creature  than  a 
muleteer.  However,  I persevered,  and  finally  obtained  the  address  of 
an  impresario  named  Zacarias  Diaz,  who  lived  in  the  outskirts  of 


MAP  OF  ROUTE  ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


Mendoza,  near  the  cemetery;  and  at  5 a.m.  the  next  morning  I called 
upon  him,  tempted  him  with  gold,  and  after  drinking  several  glasses 
of  vermouth,  we  at  last  came  to  terms,  and  he  signed  with  an  elaborate 
flourish,  or  rubrica , the  following  document  and  receipt  for  the  pay- 
ment of  half  the  sum  agreed: 

“ Recibi  del  Senor  Teodoro  Child  cuarenta  pesos  nacionales,  mitad  del  importe  por 
el  cual  me  obligo  a hacerlo  conducir  a Chile  y cuya  segunda  mitad  sera  pagada  en 
Santa  Rosa  de  los  Andes.  Enero  22,  ’90.  Zacarias  Diaz.” 

An  hour  later  the  impresario  Diaz  introduced  me  to  the  arriero , 
Benigno  Mendoza  by  name,  who  was  to  take  me  to  Chili ; and  after 
giving  Benigno  instructions  to  go  on  ahead  and  meet  me  the  follow- 
ing morning  at  eight  o’clock  at  a point  on  the  railway  track  thirty 
and  odd  kilometres  from  Mendoza,  I felt  relieved  of  some  anxiety,  and 
spent  the  day  in  gossip  and  expectation. 

The  following  morning,  January  23d,  at  half-past  six,  an  engine 
and  two  corrugated  iron  freight-cars  started  from  the  station  of  the 


32 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


Ferro-carril  Trasandino,  at  Mendoza,  with  half  a dozen  navvies,  the 
pay-master  Don  Carlos,  his  clerk,  the  liquor  contractor  of  the  first  sec- 
tion of  the  line,  and  the  writer  of  these  pages,  each  one  with  his  bag- 
gage— bedding,  ponchos , saddles,  spurs,  revolvers,  boots,  belts,  and  I 
know  not  what  besides.  And  so,  with  much  jolting,  rattling,  and  dust, 
we  sped  along  gayly. 

The  starting-point  at  Mendoza  is  719  metres  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  and  the  line  runs  south-west  by  south  for  the  first  twelve  kilo- 
metres, passing  through  cultivated  ground  near  the  famous  Trapiche 
vineyard ; then  it  gets  on  to  barren  ground  covered  with  scrub  and 
bulbous  cactuses  studded  with  beautiful  wax-like  flowers,  though  as  far 
as  kilometre  21  you  still  see  zones  of  cultivated  ground,  and  away  to 
the  right  hand  the  red  and  brown  slopes  of  the  Andes  and  distant 
sowy  peaks.  At  kilometre  2 1 is  the  first  station,  called  La  Compuer- 
ta.  At  kilometre  24  the  line  reaches  the  Mendoza  River  for  the  first 
time,  and  crosses  it  over  a bridge  of  120  metres  span,  in  six  openings 
of  twenty  metres  each.  It  then  turns  more  to  the  west,  and  follows  the 
south  bank  of  the  Mendoza  River  over  a stony  plain,  until  it  reaches 
Boca  del  Rio  at  kilometre  33,  where  the  rails  stopped  at  the  time  of 
my  journey.  But  before  reaching  this  point  we  left  the  train  at  a 
small  camp  called  El  Rodeo,  placed  on  a bluff  on  the  bank  of  the 
Mendoza  River  — a barren  and  deserted  spot  indeed,  but  luxurious 
compared  with  other  camps  which  I was  destined  to  see  later.  Im- 
agine heaps  of  broken  railway  material,  piles  of  rails,  sheds  full  of  vari- 
ous materials,  groups  of  little  cabins  made  of  corrugated  iron,  a corral 
of  wattled  brushwood,  a dome-roofed  baking  oven  built  of  sun-dried 
bricks,  a total  absence  of  vegetation  or  shade,  and  an  abundance  of 
dust  and  scattered  rubbish.  Animate  this  landscape  with  mules,  a few 
teams  of  oxen,  navvies  of  all  nationalities,  Indian  and  half-breed  wom- 
en and  children,  lean  dogs,  a few  goats,  some  errant  fowls,  and  you 
will  have  an  idea  of  the  first  camp  on  the  line.  Here  Don  Carlos 
stayed  a couple  of  hours  to  pay  the  men,  and  I meanwhile  sent  to  in- 
quire if  Benigno  was  at  the  rendezvous,  a short  distance  farther  on ; 
but  although  the  hour  fixed  upon  had  passed,  there  were  no  signs  of 
mules  or  muleteer.  I remembered  that  I was  in  the  land  of  mahana , 
and  waited  patiently ; but  as  hour  followed  hour  and  the  mules  did 
not  appear,  I began  to  feel  irritated  and  alarmed.  Don  Carlos  had 
gone  ahead  and  left  me.  It  was  already  noon.  The  situation  was 
becoming  hopeless,  and  it  seemed  probable  that  I and  my  poncho , 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


33 


spurs,  leggings,  and  cork  helmet  would  be  obliged  to  return  ignomin- 
iously  to  Mendoza.  However,  I determined  to  make  the  best  of 
things,  and  there  being  no  immediate  means  of  returning  to  the  town, 
I accepted  the  invitation  of  the  engineer  of  the  camp,  a most  sympa- 
thetic and  accomplished  German  gentleman,  and  sat  down  to  break- 
fast under  the  shade  of  a brush  roof  in  company  with  my  host,  with 
the  telegraphist  of  the  camp,  a young  Venezuelan,  and  with  the  head 
blacksmith,  one  of  the  most  imaginative  and  agreeable  Gascons  I 
have  ever  met.  This  lunch  between  hope  and  fear  was  so  pleasant  to 
all  parties  that  it  was  prolonged  nearly  three  hours,  and  then,  when  I 
had  quite  reconciled  myself  to  a forced  retreat,  the  worthy  Benigno 
was  announced.  Where  had  he  been  ? He  had  missed  the  road,  and 
gone  up  the  mountain  instead  of  down.  However,  there  was  no  ques- 
tion of  reproach  or  expostulation.  Benigno  smiled  all  over  his  face ; 
his  black  beard  glistened  with  blue  reflections  in  the  sunlight;  hoarse 
but  still  articulate  sounds  issued  from  his  parched  lips.  We  must  not 
lose  any  more  time,  he  suggested,  and  took  the  baggage  to  load  up 
the  pack-mule.  A few  minutes  later  I bade  a hearty  farewell  to  my 
host,  mounted  my  mule,  -and  off  we  started  over  scrub  and  cactus,  the 
madrina  leading  the  way  with  her  tinkling  bell. 

Our  little  caravan  consisted  of  six  mules  — one  for  me,  one  for 
Benigno,  one  for  the  baggage,  two  spare  animals  in  case  of  accident, 
and  the  yegiia  madrina , or  bell -mule,  which  all  the  others  follow. 
The  general  order  of  march  was  the  madrina , the  spare  mules,  and 
the  baggage-mule  in  the  van,  followed  by  Benigno,  who  drove  them 
on  with  his  lasso,  and  chased  them  back  into  the  path  when  they 
wandered  away.  A short  distance  behind  Benigno,  my  mule  stepped 
along  at  a rapid  walking  pace,  rarely  breaking  into  a trot,  and  that 
only  when  he  saw  that  the  others  were  getting  too  far  ahead.  As 
for  the  accoutrements,  they  presented  some  special  details  worthy  of 
notice.  The  bridle  of  both  mules  and  horses  in  the  mountain  dis- 
tricts of  the  Argentine  and  of  Chili  is  provided  not  only  with  a bit 
and  curb,  but  also  with  a semicircular  metal  guard  which  covers  the 
lips,  and  serves  the  double  purpose  of  protecting  the  nose  of  the 
animals  in  case  of  a fall  or  slip  in  going  uphill,  and  at  the  same 
time  of  preventing  them  from  drinking  when  they  are  fording 
streams.  This  Chilian  bit  is  a formidable  engine  against  which  no 
animal  can  rebel.  The  reins  are  generally  made  of  twisted  strands  of 
untanned  leather,  finely  plaited  in  round  lengths  which  are  joined 

3 


34 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


together  with  rings,  while  attached  to  the  bridle  is  a leather  lash  two 
yards  or  two  yards  and  a half  long,  which  takes  the  place  of  a whip, 
and  which  you  whirl  round  as  you  would  whirl  a lasso,  and  thus  deal 
very  efficacious  strokes  across  the  flanks  of  recalcitrant  beasts.  This 
long  lasso-lash  is  especially  useful  when  you  meet  another  troop  of 
mules,  or  when  you  have  to  spur  and  “ whoop  ” your  way  through  one 
of  those  herds  of  a thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  horned  cattle  which 
are  constantly  being  driven  over  the  mountains  during  the  summer 
months,  and  crowd  the  narrow  path  in  an  often  alarming  manner. 
The  saddles  used  are  the  high-cushioned  Chilian  or  Mexican  models, 
or,  more  commonly,  a series  of  superposed  skins  and  cloths  arranged 
somewhat  in  the  same  manner  as  the  recado , or  saddle,  of  the  Ar- 
gentine gaucho:  first  of  all,  a cloth  or  some  sheepskins,  then  a leath- 
er saddle,  then  a peaked  wooden  frame  called  bastos,  to  which  the 
stirrups  are  attached,  and  the  whole  held  in  place  by  a belly-band, 
and  then  over  this  two  or  three  more  sheepskins  and  a saddle-cloth, 
held  in  position  by  means  of  a broad  surcingle.  This  surcingle  is 
not  provided  with  buckles,  but  simply  with  rings  and  thongs,  which 
are  tied  with  running  knots,  and  so  can  be  more  readily  loosened  and 
tightened  while  the  various  elements  of  the  saddle  are  beinsr  recom- 
posed  — an  operation  which  has  to  be  done  from  time  to  time  dur- 
ing the  day's  march,  especially  when  the  road  is  precipitous.  The 
stirrups  are  simply  heavy  wooden  shoes,  or  sabots , always  curiously 
carved,  and  an  excellent  protection  against  the  bowlders  and  thorn- 
bushes  which  line  the  mountain  track.  To  the  inexperienced  eye 
this  equipment  may  seem  primitive  and  cumbersome,  but  in  reality 
every  detail  of  it  has  its  reason  and  use.  Indeed,  as  a general  rule, 
we  may  be  sure  that  usages  consecrated  by  long  tradition  are  not  to 
be  sneered  at.  Even  those  enormous  wheel  spurs  have  their  raison 
d'etre , which  is  not  to  hurt  the  horse  or  mule — no  spur  is  more  harm- 
less— but  to  assist  the  rider  to  sit  in  the  saddle  with  ease  and  cling 
more  closely  to  his  horse.  A Chilian  does  not  feel  his  equilibrium 
complete  unless  he  wears  a pair  of  these  big  spurs,  which  are  so  ter- 
ribly embarrassing  when  he  dismounts  and  walks  on  terra  firma. 
As  regards  the  baggage-mule,  bags,  trunks,  and  all  sorts  of  luggage 
are  piled  up  on  his  back  on  a pack-saddle,  and  tied  on  with  long 
thongs  of  untanned  leather  in  such  a manner  as  to  balance  well. 
Now,  as  the  baggage-mule  trots  on  in  front,  free  to  err  a little  from 
the  path  and  snatch  en  passant  a sprig  of  vegetation,  it  often  happens 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


35 


that  he  abuses  his  privilege  and  runs  uphill  or  downhill  some  dis- 
tance. Then  he  has  to  be  driven  back  to  the  road.  All  this  ends 
by  disturbing  the  equilibrium  of  the  cargo,  and  then  the  arriero 
gallops  up  to  the  baggage-mule,  dismounts  with  agility,  and  throws 
his  poncho  over  the  animal’s  head.  As  long  as  his  head  is  cov- 
ered with  the  poncho  the  mule  remains  still,  and  recourse  to  this 
method  of  blindfolding  is  had  each  time  the  mule  is  loaded,  and  each 
time  that  the  balance  needs  to  be  re-established  during  the  day’s 
march.  In  fact  it  is  one  of  the  little  incidents  of  mountain  travel- 


ROPING  CATTLE  AT  PUNTA  NEGRA. 


ling  that  amuses  the  novice,  for  the  aspect  of  a mule  with  his  head 
wrapped  up  in  a poncho  has  a certain  element  of  comicality. 

In  a few  minutes  the  hospitable  camp  of  El  Rodeo  was  lost  to 
view,  and  we  entered  the  silence  of  the  mountains,  following  the  rail- 
way line  through  a granite  cutting,  and  then  through  a tunnel  of  ioo 

- O O O’  O 


36 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


metres  long.  At  kilometre  36.400  the  line  will  cross  to  the  north  side 
of  the  river  with  a bridge  of  forty-five  metres  span  over  a deep,  narrow 
channel.  One  kilometre  farther  on  it  recrosses  to  the  south  bank 
over  a bridge  of  forty  metres  span,  and  a viaduct  of  three  arches,  each 
of  nine  metres.  The  rails  at  the  time  of  my  journey  were  laid  only 
as  far  as  kilometre  33,  and  although  most  of  the  masonry  was  com- 
pleted for  the  bridges  beyond  that  point,  none  of  the  iron-work  had 
yet  arrived,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  cannot  be  brought  until  the 
rails  are  laid.  Henceforward,  then,  we  followed  a mule -path  along 
the  south  side  of  the  Mendoza  River,  up  hill  and  down  dale,  through 
grand  scenery,  until  we  reached  San  Ignacio  about  two  hours  after 
sunset,  passing  on  our  way,  at  kilometre  38.500,  the  second  station, 
Los  Banos  de  la  Boca  del  Rio,  where  there  are  some  hot  sulphur 
springs  in  the  bed  of  the  river,  usually  available  only  in  the  winter, 
because  the  summer  floods  cover  them.  Just  beyond  this  station  the 
line  crosses  to  the  north  bank,  with  a bridge  of  forty-five  metres  span, 
and  three  arches  of  nine  metres  each.  Then  shortly  afterwards  it 
goes  through  a tunnel  of  forty-two  metres,  and  round  a quick  bend  in 
the  river  by  retaining  walls  on  the  mountain-side.  All  this  I noticed 
with  interest,  but  in  order  not  to  distract  the  reader,  and  for  the  sake 
of  greater  clearness,  I will  reserve  the  technical  details  of  the  line  for 
a subsequent  page,  and  proceed  to  relate  the  few  incidents  of  the 
journey. 

At  San  Ignacio  I slept  comfortably  in  the  house  of  the  engineer 
of  the  camp,  who  was  absent,  and  whose  hospitality  I could  recognize 
only  by  leaving  a card  of  thanks  on  his  desk.  The  next  morning  I 
was  awakened  about  half- past  four  by  the  trampling  of  mules  and 
by  the  steps  of  Benigno,  who  was  making  preparations  for  starting. 
After  a cup  of  coffee  and  a biscuit  we  were  in  the  saddle,  and  as  we 
jogged  along  in  the  mild  morning  freshness  my  eyes  rested  with  won- 
derment on  the  surrounding  snow-clad  ridges,  above  which  towered 
in  the  distance  the  conical  peak  of  Tupungato,  6180  metres  high.  It 
was  a singularly  impressive  sight.  The  gloom  of  night  still  lingered 
in  the  valley;  the  lower  ranges  of  mountains  seemed  to  emit  dark- 
ness ; the  outlines  of  the  bowlders,  scrub,  and  cactus  plants  were  not 
yet  sharply  defined  ; the  earth  appeared  as  it  were  half  asleep,  lulled 
by  the  subdued  roar  of  the  Mendoza  River  rolling  its  torrent  of  brown- 
gray  water  along  its  deep  and  tortuous  bed;  the  only  other  sound  per- 
ceptible was  the  tinkling  of  the  mule-bell  and  the  soft  pattering  of 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


37 


hoofs  over  the  gravel  and  pebbles.  Suddenly  the  summit  of  Tupun- 
gato reddened,  and  in  a few  minutes  all  the  topmost  ridges  became 
brilliant  and  almost  transparent,  like  molten  copper  as  it  flows  out  of 
the  furnace.  The  spectacle  of  sunrise  in  the  Andes  was  one  that  I 
contemplated  each  morning  with  ever-increasing  awe,  for  each  time  it 
seemed  more  wonderful,  more  beautiful,  and  more  indescribable. 


PASO  DEL  VERMEJITO. 


The  second  day’s  journey  from  San  Ignacio  to  the  camp  of  Us- 
pallata  was  long  and  wearisome.  We  were  still  in  the  arid  region 
of  rugged  ground  thinly  dotted  with  thorn,  jarilla  scrub,  and  great 
hairy  cactuses  growing  in  single  spikes  a foot  or  more  in  diameter 
and  three  or  four  feet  high.  Keeping  as  near  to  the  river  as  possible, 
we  rode  along  until  we  came  to  the  Rio  Blanco  de  los  Potrerillos, 
which  we  forded  without  difficulty,  and  then  crossed  a number  of  ra- 
vines, or  quebradas,  descending  and  ascending  the  precipitous  sides 
without  accident,  but  not  without  emotion.  Towards  noon  we  halted 
in  the  desert,  lighted  a fire,  and  ate  our  lonely  breakfast  with  gusto, 
and  then  once  more  the  girths  were  tightened,  and  we  proceeded, 
partly  along  the  river-bank  and  partly  along  the  railway  track,  through 


33 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


the  stony  and  burning  wastes  of  the  Alumbre,  and  then  along  the  pre- 
cipitous face  of  broken  mountains,  where  the  rock  has  been  cut  away 
so  that  the  railway  runs  terracewise  along  the  river  with  one  short 
tunnel.  All  this  part  of  the  route  is  as  hard  travelling  as  one  could 
wish  to  one's  worst  enemy.  The  arid  ground,  the  bare  red  granite 
rocks,  every  particle  of  dust  even,  seem  to  be  burning  hot.  There  is 
no  shade,  no  water,  no  shelter;  and  with  eyes  inflamed  parched  tongue, 
and  smarting  throat,  you  toil  along,  deriving  little  consolation  from  the 
fact  that  the  hardy  muleteer  is  suffering  nearly  as  much  as  yourself. 
Finally,  about  half  an  hour  after  sundown,  we  came  in  sight  of  a soli- 
tary provision  store,  a few  kilometres  on  this  side  of  the  camp  of  Us- 
pallata,  with  around  it  two  or  three  empty  houses,  forming  part  of  a 
camp  that  had  now  been  removed  higher  up.  This  store,  or  prove- 
doria,  was  kept  by  a Spanish  Basque,  who  was  of  kindly  disposition 
in  spite  of  his  ferocious  aspect,  and  being  utterly  exhausted,  I be- 
sought him  to  let  me  sleep  in  his  shed,  rather  than  go  on  in  the  dark 
half  a dozen  kilometres  farther  to  the  regular  camp.  So  my  mattress 
was  laid  amid  flour  barrels,  oil-cans,  casks  of  wine,  and  various  wares, 
in  a shed  at  the  back  of  the  shop,  and,  in  company  of  rats  and  mice, 
I passed  as  peaceful  a night  as  my  aching  bones  and  my  parched 
throat  would  allow.  It  was  useless  to  bewail  my  fate.  I had  chosen 
this  path  of  my  own  free-will.  The  only  thing  to  do  now  was  to  make 
the  best  of  it,  or  perish  in  the  attempt.  At  any  rate,  I was  learning 
by  personal  experience  what  are  the  hardships  suffered  by  those  who 
travel  through  the  desert,  for  certainly  no  Sahara  sands  can  be  more 
scarifying  and  more  parching  than  the  granitic  dust  of  the  Alumbre. 
However,  the  next  morning,  though  still  parched,  I mounted  my  mule 
as  usual,  and  we  rode  on  through  similar  country,  amid  brush,  cac- 
tus, and  burning  rocks,  until  we  reached  the  camp  of  Punta  Xegra, 
where  the  Swedish  engineer  in  charge  received  me  with  the  greatest 
cordiality,  and  offered  me  two  new-laid  eggs  and  a cup  of  fine  coffee 
prepared  by  a Frenchwoman,  the  wife  of  one  of  the  workmen.  Fresh 
eggs  are  a great  luxury  in  these  camps,  where,  strange  to  say.  few  of 
the  engineers  have  fowls,  or  even  a goat,  but  live  in  a desperately 
primitive  manner.  The  camp  of  Punta  Negra  was  one  of  the  most 
characteristic  that  I saw.  In  an  open  space  of  absolutely  sterile  brown 
earth,  under  the  shadow  of  the  equally  sterile  mountains,  there  were 
the  usual  corrals  for  the  mules ; the  usual  houses,  with  corrugated  iron 
roofs,  built  for  the  most  part  of  loose  stones  without  mortar;  a baking 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


39 


oven ; a small  store  for  the  sale  of  canned  provisions  and  more  or  less 
deleterious  drinks  — everything  looking  miserable,  dusty,  neglected, 
and  desolate.  The  inhabitants  were  the  men  working  on  the  line, 
mostly  Eastern  Europeans,  a number  of  china , or  half-Indian  women 
and  children,  with  brown  skins  and  coarse  black  hair,  and  a few  mis- 
cellaneous servants.  In  such  surroundings  the  engineers,  often  highly 
educated  young  men,  speaking  two  or  three  languages,  live  month  after 
month  and  year  after  year,  cut  off  from  the  world,  and  receiving  no 
other  visits  than  a rare  call  from  a colleague  in  a neighboring  camp, 
and  once  a month  that  of  the  paymaster  from  Mendoza.  The  engi- 
neer's cabin  scarcely  differs  from  the  others  in  the  camp,  except  in 
that  it  contains  a drawing-table,  some  scientific  instruments,  and  a few 


CROSSING  THE  RIO  BLANCO. 


books  and  illustrated  newspapers  — that  great  consolation  of  those 
whose  lot  is  cast  in  lonely  places.  In  the  midst  of  these  terrible 
mountains  there  is  no  comfort ; everything  has  to  be  carried  on  mule- 
back,  even  the  fodder  for  the  mules  themselves;  every  board,  every 
nail,  every  crumb  that  we  see  in  the  camps,  has  been  brought  on 


40 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


mules  over  the  same  difficult  road  that  we  are  now  traversing.  From 

O 

this  fact  alone  the  reader  may  judge  how  great  have  been  the  difficul- 
ties of  the  construction  of  the  railway. 

While  in  the  camp  of  Punta  Negra  I witnessed  a scene  which 
illustrated  the  primitiveness  of  existence  in  these  mountain  deserts. 
In  the  upper  valleys,  it  appears,  there  are  occasionally  stretches  of 
pasture  where  the  carneadorcs , or  fleshers,  keep  cattle.  As  we  were 
smoking  our  cigarettes  after  lunch  we  saw  in  the  distance  half  a dozen 
horsemen  galloping  along  and  driving  before  them  three  oxen.  Soon, 
with  remarkable  rapidity  and  skill,  the  cattle  were  directed  into  the 
camp,  lassos  were  thrown  over  their  horns  and  over  their  hind  and 
fore  legs,  and  the  animals  lay  panting  and  roaring  on  the  ground.  In 
a few  seconds  each  one  was  killed,  and  in  a few  minutes  afterwards  the 
hides  were  drying  in  the  sun,  and  the  meat  was  being  roasted  on 
wooden  spits  before  the  fire  of  the  baking  oven.  The  lightning  speed 
with  which  this  incident  took  place,  and  the  brusque  transition  from 
bounding  and  splendid  life  to  the  red  horror  of  dead  meat,  were  dis- 
agreeably striking  to  the  eye  of  the  over-sensitive  dweller  in  cities. 

After  examining  the  works  of  the  line  in  the  vicinity  of  Punta 
Negra,  where  I overtook  the  paymaster,  Don  Carlos,  I started  off  in 
his  company  to  the  next  camp  of  Vermejito,  which  is  2100  metres 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Here  we  spent  the  night;  and  the  next 
morning,  after  admiring  the  grand  black  basaltic  rocks  that  render 
the  scenery  in  these  parts  all  the  more  dismally  impressive,  we  start- 
ed together  with  two  of  the  engineers  of  the  camp,  who  volunteered 
to  see  us  safely  across  the  Rio  Blanco,  which  was  reported  to  be  dan- 
gerously swollen.  When  we  reached  the  bottom  of  the  deep  ravine 
through  which  this  torrent  flows,  we  found  the  reports  to  be  only  too 
true.  The  water,  white  as  milk,  was  foaming  and  dashing  over  a part 
of  the  narrow  planks  which  had  been  anchored  across  the  stream  be- 
low the  best  fording-place.  After  working  an  hour  at  the  risk  of  their 
lives,  the  two  young  engineers,  who  were  as  agile  as  goats — one  was 
a Swede  and  the  other  an  Italian — succeeded  in  raising  one  of  the 
planks  a foot,  so  that  it  could  be  crossed  with  comparative  safety,  the 
dash  of  the  water  over  it  remaining  only  about  six  inches.  The  hu- 
man element  of  the  party  then  felt  reassured ; but  how  would  the 
mules  get  over?  The  arrieros  were  in  a state  of  great  agitation, 
and  the  paymaster  was  anxious  about  the  thousands  of  dollars  that  he 
had  in  his  money-bags.  However,  every  man  lent  a hand.  The  mules 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


41- 


were  unloaded,  and,  with  the  aid  of  cries  and  whirling  lassos,  they  were 
driven  into  the  turbulent  torrent,  and  waded  or  swam  across  bravely, 
one  only  getting  carried  away  for  a few  minutes,  and  losing  a big 
piece  of  his  flesh  against  a sharp  bowlder.  The  next  thing  was  to 
carry  over  the  baggage  and  saddles.  A lasso  was  flung  across  the 
stream,  and  held  on  one  side  by  the  two  engineers,  and  on  the  other 


THE  INN  AT  PUNTA  DE  LAS  VACAS. 


by  the  vigilante , or  gendarme,  who  accompanied  the  paymaster,  “to 
prevent  him  running  away  with  the  company’s  money,”  as  we  used 
laughingly  to  tell  him.  This  taut  cord  served  as  a hand-rail  along  the 
narrow  plank,  and  by  means  of  repeated  journeys,  and  with  incessant 
risk,  the  baggage  was  finally  all  carried  over,  the  mules  loaded  and 
saddled,  and  the  journey  resumed,  Don  Carlos  and  his  party  leaving 


42 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


me  behind,  for  they  were  well  mounted  on  strong  horses.  My  little 
caravan  halted  for  lunch  in  an  open  flat  valley,  walled  in  on  three 
sides  with  rugged  black  basaltic  mountains,  and  on  the  other  by  the 
deep  gorge  of  the  Mendoza  River.  This  valley  was  a waste  of  baked 
earth,  crackled  in  every  direction  like  a Chinese  porcelain  pot,  and 
divided  into  sections  by  the  stony  beds  of  dry  rivulets.  A patch  of 
jarilla  scrub  beside  a little  trickling  streamlet  of  clear  water,  with 
tadpoles  lurking  in  the  pools  and  among  the  cryptogamous  verdure 
along  the  edges,  seemed  to  us  a comfortable  spot,  although  there  was 
not  an  inch  of  shade,  and  no  shelter  whatever  either  from  wind  or  sun. 
Here  we  lighted  a fire,  and  turning  our  backs  to  the  desert,  faced  tow- 
ards the  river,  which  we  could  see  glistening  in  the  distance  as  it 
disappeared  round  a bend  between  the  horrid  mountains,  while  at 
the  other  end  of  the  valley  we  perceived  tall  snow-capped  peaks,  and 
across  the  desert  itself  the  implacable  line  of  iron  telegraph  posts  with 
a double  wire  stretched  from  insulator  to  insulator.  This  telegraph 
line  goes  from  the  Argentine  to  Chili,  passing  the  summit  of  the  An- 
des in  underground  cables  as  far  as  Guardia  Vieja.  When  the  brush- 
wood was  well  ablaze  Benigno  produced  from  his  saddle-bags  a piece 
of  fresh  meat  which  he  had  bought  at  Punta  Negra,  spitted  it  on  a 
stick,  and  propped  it  up  on  two  stones  in  front  of  the  fire,  where  it 
was  roasted  to  perfection.  With  this  roast,  a box  of  sardines,  some 
marmalade,  a bottle  of  wine,  and  a cup  of  coffee,  we  made  an  excellent 
meal,  and  started  off  gayly  for  the  next  camp,  called  Punta  de  las 
Vacas.  The  road  was  arduous,  the  ascents  being  exceedingly  steep, 
and  the  descents  equally  precipitous.  The  path,  too,  was  not  clear, 
but,  luckily,  Don  Carlos  had  lighted  fires  at  different  points  so  that 
the  smoke  might  guide  us.  Thus  we  arrived  at  a paltry  stream  called 
the  Rio  Colorado,  which  in  ordinary  times  you  cross  on  stepping- 
stones,  but  which  was  now  swollen  into  a formidable  torrent  tumbling 
along  violently  through  a rocky  and  pathless  ravine.  Here  we  spent 
some  time  before  we  could  find  a spot  where  the  mules  could  pass 
with  safety,  and  even  then  we  had  to  ford  it  with  the  water  washing 
over  our  mules’  backs.  I will  here  remark,  without  insisting  upon 
such  a trifling  detail,  that  in  fording  these  swift  torrents,  if  you  hap- 
pen to  look  down  instead  of  straight  ahead,  the  water  and  the  mule 
seem  to  be  stationary,  while  the  banks  are  rushing  past  with  alarming 
rapidity.  People  who  are  subject  to  giddiness  will  do  well  not  to  at- 
tempt to  cross  the  Andes. 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


43 


In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  we  arrived  safely  at  the  camp  of 
Punta  de  las  Vacas,  where  an  amiable  Scotch  engineer  save  us  hos- 
pitality  and  accepted  with  pleasure  a little  whiskey — a rarity  at  this 
height  above  the  sea-level.  This  camp  is  one  of  the  loneliest,  most 
desolate,  and  most  arid  of  the  whole  line,  the  only  living  things  near 


it  being  pumas,  guanacos,  and 
vultures.  The  engineer  had  as 
a pet  a young  guanaco,  which 
wandered  freely  about  the  camp  and  fondled  everybody.  This  spe- 
cies of  animal — something  between  an  antelope  and  a llama — is  very 
prolific  and  abundant  in  the  upper  valleys  of  the  Cordillera.  In  the 
camp  of  Punta  de  las  Vacas,  as  in  all  the  camps  that  I visited,  I found 
a warm  welcome,  and  spent  a pleasant  evening  with  my  host  and  Don 
Carlos,  the  paymaster,  who  also  stayed  there  that  night.  The  next 
morning  I left  the  track  of  the  railway,  crossed  the  Mendoza  River  on 
a shaky  wooden  bridge,  rode  along  the  Rio  de  las  Cuevas  for  a short 
distance,  among  bowlders  and  rocks,  and  then  rejoined  the  ordinary 
mule-road  from  Mendoza  to  Chili,  a good  broad  path,  very  different 
from  the  scarcely  visible  bridle-paths  which  I had  been  following 
hitherto  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  The  scenery,  too,  began  to 
grow  less  arid.  Walls  of  loose  stones  enclosed  vast  potreros , for 


VALLE  DE  LAS  CUEVAS. 


44 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


shutting  in  and  feeding  the  travelling  herds  of  cattle.  There  were 
even  some  pasture-land  and  some  wild  dowers  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
public  halting-place,  called  also  Punta  de  las  Vacas  — a dismal  and 
filthy  spot  withal,  surrounded  with  dirt,  offal,  horns,  bones,  skeletons 
of  horses,  mules,  and  other  cattle,  old  meat -cans,  broken  bottles,  and 
all  the  evidences  of  uncleanliness,  destruction,  and  cruelty  which 
nomad  humanity  leaves  for  nature's  scavengers  to  transmute.  As  we 
continued  along  the  Cuevas  Valley  we  saw  from  time  to  time  more 
skeletons  of  mules  or  oxen,  some  bleached  and  cleanly  picked,  others 
still  occupying  the  ravenous  beaks  of  large  birds  of  prey.  So  we 
arrived  without  incident  at  Puente  del  Inca,  where  I stayed  that 
day  to  examine  the  natural  curiosities  of  the  spot.  The  Inca’s 
Bridge  is  simply  an  arch  of  stratided  shingle,  cemented  together  by 
deposits  and  petridcations  from  the  hot  springs  which  bubble  up  all 
over  the  neighboring  bluff,  the  river  Cuevas  having  eaten  its  way 
through  the  shingle  and  falling  in  a cascade  below.  The  bridge  is 
66  feet  high,  120  wide,  and  varies  from  20  to  30  feet  in  thickness, 
and,  seen  from  below  the  bridge,  is  found  to  be  covered  with  yel- 
lowish stalactites  more  curious  than  beautiful.  In  the  sides  of  the 
ravine,  in  grottos,  are  bubbling  hot  springs  of  crystalline  water, 
which  even  in  winter  has  a temperature  of  940  Fahrenheit.  This 
water  contains  sulphur,  iron,  and  other  mineral  properties,  and  is  re- 
puted to  be  of  great  efficacy.  Doubtless,  when  the  transandine  rail- 
way is  opened  for  traffic,  a company  will  buy  up  Puente  del  Inca, 
construct  a dne  bath  establishment,  and  take  in  handsome  prodts. 
Even  as  it  is,  although  the  grottos  are  merely  enclosed  with  a few 
planks,  and  although  neither  at  the  springs  nor  at  the  inn  is  there 
the  smallest  element  of  comfort  or  simple  decency,  many  people  come 
every  year  from  Chili  and  the  Argentine  in  order  to  take  the  baths. 
Indeed,  a more  miserable  and  desolate  spot  could  hardly  be  imagined. 
It  is  a stretch  of  reddish-brown  ground  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
without  a particle  of  vegetation  on  it.  Towards  the  river  the  ground 
is  covered  with  a yellow  or  white  efflorescence  that  suggests  coral 
formation,  and  innumerable  little  springs  of  hot  water  bubble  up 
through  cracks  in  the  rock  with  a hissing  sound,  and  trickle  over 
green  or  yellow  doating  dbre  towards  the  edge  of  the  rock,  where  the 
dbre  hangs  over  and  gradually  solidifies  into  stalactites,  which  in  turn 
become  converted  into  projecting  ledges,  on  which  other  stalactites 
hang.  The  whole  aspect  of  the  ground  is  uncanny;  just  as  at  Punta 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


45 


PUENTE  DEL  INCA. 


de  las  Vacas,  the  inn  is  surrounded  with  a zone  of  filth,  bones,  horns, 
offal,  and  old  tins.  As  for  the  inn  itself,  it  is  an  agglomeration  of 
one -story  buildings  of  sun-dried  bricks,  mud  roofs,  floors  of  beaten 
earth  not  even  levelled,  the  walls  whitewashed,  and  the  doors  painted 
bright  green.  In  each  room  are  as  many  trestles  and  mattresses  as 
it  can  hold,  and  in  the  summer  months  the  traveller  must  expect  to 
sleep  in  mixed  company,  and  be  prepared  to  dispense  with  washing 


46 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  all  other  conveniences  which  decency,  not  to  say  comfort,  re- 
quires. I may  say  here  that  experienced  travellers  strenuously  dep- 
recate the  use  of  soap  and  water  during  the  journey  across  the  An- 
des, on  the  ground  that  it  renders  the  skin  tender  and  susceptible, 
not  so  much  to  the  sun,  but  to  the  terrible  dust  and  winds  that  you 
meet.  If  you  wash,  they  say,  your  lips  and  nose  will  crack  and  your 
skin  peel  off.  For  my  part,  I abstained  from  washing  the  whole  time 
I was  in  the  mountains,  not  only  because  I felt  confidence  in  the 
experienced  advice  of  other  travellers,  but  also  because,  for  want  of 
water  and  utensils,  I never  had  an  opportunity  of  washing.  On  the 
other  hand,  I must  say  that  I arrived  at  my  journey's  end  without  any 
hurt  or  disfigurement  other  than  the  loss  of  the  skin  on  the  tip  of 
my  nose. 

From  Puente  del  Inca  we  started  the  next  morning  to  perform 
perhaps  the  hardest  stretch  of  the  journey,  namely,  the  passage  of 
the  Cumbre,  12,795  feet  high,  the  dividing  point  between  the  Pacific 
and  Atlantic  water -sheds  of  the  Andes.  The  road  lies  alone:  the 
middle  of  the  grand  valley  of  Las  Cuevas,  in  which  are  two  or  three 
round  huts,  or  casuc/ias , where  travellers  and  the  couriers  carrying  the 
mails  find  shelter  when  needful.  All  these  casuchas  are  built  on  the 
same  plan,  with  steps  ascending  to  the  interior,  which  consists  of  a 
room  some  sixteen  feet  square,  without  any  other  aperture  except  the 
door.  In  the  centre  is  a heap  of  ashes  where  travellers  build  a fire 
to  cook  food,  and  sometimes  remain  a week  or  ten  days  in  smoke 
and  misery  waiting  for  a favorable  moment  to  scale  the  steep  hog- 
back ridge,  and  get  down  the  terribly  precipitous  descent  on  the 
Chilian  side.  The  difficulties  at  this  point  are  twofold,  due  either  to 
the  elements  or  to  the  traveller's  temperament.  Some  people,  and 
even  some  mules  and  horses,  are  attacked  at  this  elevation  with  puna 
■ — a difficulty  of  breathing  ascribed  to  the  rarefaction  of  the  air. 
The  symptoms  are  sudden  bleeding  of  the  nose  and  of  the  lungs, 
and  a gasping  for  breath  which  may  cause  death.  Travellers  not 
unfrequently  have  to  turn  back  and  retrace  their  steps  to  Mendo- 
za. The  day  I crossed,  three  persons  out  of  a party  of  seven  were 
obliged  to  turn  back  and  hurry  down  to  the  valley,  so  acute  was  the 
attack  of  puna  which  they  experienced.  The  difficulties  of  the  other 
category  are  snow-storms  and  gales  of  wind  of  such  force  that  they 
blow  mules  and  men  off  their  legs  and  into  destruction.  Even  in 
the  fine  months  of  December  and  January  these  gales  occur,  and 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


47 


every  afternoon  the  wind  rises  and  the  clouds  gather  on  the  summit 
to  discharge  torrents  of  hail  or  rain.  The  best  time  to  cross  is, 
therefore,  early  morning,  or,  at  any  rate,  before  noon.  Benigno  and 
myself  had  determined  to  cross  the  Cumbre  early,  the  more  so  as  at 
Puente  del  Inca  the  wind  was  already  blowing  rather  strongly,  and 
the  clouds  hung  threateningly  around  the  mountains.  Our  inten- 
tion was  to  have  left  the  Puente  del  Inca  at  half -past  three  or  four 


GOOD  SPECIMEN  OF  CASUCHA. 


in  the  morning,  but  when  we  got  up  the  mules  had  disappeared, 
and  it  was  only  after  a four  hours’  search  that  they  were  discovered 
grazing  in  one  of  the  upper  valleys.  Thanks  to  this  delay,  we  had 
to  cross  the  Cumbre  in  the  afternoon,  and  before  we  reached  the 
summit,  with  the  snowy  peaks  and  glaciers  glistening  all  around  us, 
the  gale  began  to  blow  more  strongly,  making  us  bend  close  over 
the  necks  of  our  mules,  and  by  the  time  we  began  the  descent  on 
the  Chilian  side,  snow  and  hail  were  beating  against  our  faces  and 
almost  blinding  us.  On  the  Chilian  side  the  downward  path  is  so 
rapid,  and  the  loose  red  earth  and  stones  so  slippery,  that  most  peo- 
ple jump  off  their  mules  and  scramble  down  on  foot  for  about  two 
miles  until  the  path  becomes  a little  firmer.  Down  these  inclines 


48 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


we  hurried  as  fast  as  we  could,  winding  round  the  mountains,  and 
getting  lower  and  lower,  until  we  came  within  sight  of  the  J uncal 
post  - house,  which  is  only  7340  feet  above  the  sea-level.  Thence, 
through  a steady  downfall  of  thick  rain,  we  rode  across  the  valley, 
forded  a few  streams,  and  about  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  we 
reached  a comfortable  little  post-house  at  Ojos  del  Agua,  where  we 
found  clean  beds  and  an  excellent  cazucla — one  of  the  national 
Chilian  dishes,  being  a combination  of  a soup  and  a stew,  and  a 
most  consoling  meal  for  a weary  traveller.  Here  I spent  the  night 
in  peaceful  slumber,  and  the  next  morning  started  early,  in  company 
with  a Chilian  gentleman,  to  perform  the  last  stage  of  the  journey 
and  the  most  delightfully  picturesque.  The  scenery  on  the  Argen- 
tine side  of  the  Cordillera  is  grand,  imposing,  and  awe-inspiring,  but 
never  charming.  On  the  Chilian  side,  on  the  contrary,  after  passing 
the  upper  morose  and  intemperate  regions,  you  find  a most  wonderful 

combination  of 
grandeur  and  of 
softer  beauty  in 
the  loner  valley  of 
the  Aconcagua, 
all  the  way  from 
Ojos  del  Agua 
and  Guardia  Vie- 
ja  down  to  the 
town  of  Santa 
Rosa  de  los  An- 
des. It  is  like 
riding  through  a 
garden,  so  great 
is  the  variety  of 
trees,  shrubs,  and 
brilliant  flowers 

that  line  the  path  and  the  mountain -sides,  and  cling  to  the  ledges 
and  terraces  of  the  deep  ravine,  at  the  bottom  of  which  the  river 
boils  and  roars.  Many  of  the  trees  bear  fruits  or  nuts  of  kinds  not 
recorded  in  ordinary  botanical  treatises.  Some  of  the  shrubs  emit 
aromatic  odors,  and  one  in  particular,  called  nipa,  fills  the  air  with 
a perfume  that  suggests  the  proximity  of  the  domestic  hog.  1 he 
flowers,  again,  are  strange  in  form  and  most  exquisitely  delicate  in 


CUMBRE  DE  LA  CORDILLERA. 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


49 


color.  Strange,  too,  is  the  candle -cactus,  or  guisco,  which  grows  in 
profusion  on  the  lower  slopes,  with  branches  fifteen  and  twenty  feet 
high,  the  pale  green  prickly  lances  being  generally  overgrown  with  a 
mossy  parasite  of  a rich  red  color.  As  we  descend  lower  an  occa- 
sional mountain  farm  - house  is  seen  buried  in  the  rich  verdure  of 
this  Garden  of  Eden  which  man’s  hand  has  not  yet  marred.  An 
acequia , or  irrigating  canal,  diverts  some  water  from  the  neighboring 
torrent  to  fertilize  the  patches  of  corn  and  vegetables.  Soon  we 
came  to  a curious  natural  phenomenon,  where  the  river  has  eaten  its 
way  through  a barrier  of  solid  rock.  This  point  is  known  as  the 
Salto  del  Soldado.  Then,  still  descending  through  most  enchanting 
scenery,  we  reached  the  pretty  halting  - place,  Los  Loros,  where  the 
road  becomes  practicable  for  carriages.  Here  I confess  that  I dis- 
mounted from  my  mule  with  pleasure,  gave  the  faithful  Benigno 
Mendoza  sterling  tokens  of  my  satisfaction,  and  transferred  my  weary 
person  and  dusty  baggage  to  a carriage  that  was  waiting  in  the  hope 
of  a return  fare  to  Los  Andes,  where  I arrived  after  a pleasant 
three  hours’  ride  through  well -watered  gardens  of  vines,  apple  and 
peach  trees,  and  vast  fields  of  alfalfa  pasture,  divided  by  row  after 
row  of  slender  and  graceful  poplars.  The  aspect  of  the  valley  of 
the  Aconcagua  is  one  of  indescribable  fertility,  and  the  net-work  of 
irrigation  canals,  which  carry  water  to  every  point,  keeps  the  vege- 
tation in  a state  of  brilliantly  green  freshness.  Lrom  Ojos  del 
Agua  downward,  the  scenery  is  enchanting  to  a degree  that  neither 
pictures  nor  words  can  render. 

On  the  afternoon  of  January  29th,  I reached  the  little  town  of 
Santa  Rosa  de  los  Andes,  having  spent  six  days  on  the  road.  The 
same  evening  I had  the  pleasure  of  dining  with  Don  Honorio 
Rosende,  who  had  on  one  urgent  occasion  ridden  from  Los  Andes 
to  Mendoza  in  thirty-six  consecutive  hours,  using  two  horses,  mount- 
ing one  and  driving  the  other  before  him  for  a change.  Both  the 
horses  died  at  the  end  of  the  journey  from  over- exertion,  but  Don 
Honorio  had  the  satisfaction  of  saving  his  brother,  who  had  been 
captured  and  carried  south  by  some  Indians.  Thirty -six  consecutive 
hours  is  the  quickest  time  that  has  been  made  between  Mendoza 
and  Los  Andes.  By  the  regular  road  four  days  is  generally  con- 
sidered a fair  record  for  ordinary  travellers,  and  six  days  are  need- 
ed by  those  who  wish  to  ride  easily  and  occasionally  to  linger  a 
few  hours  on  the  road.  The  trip  is  certainly  a hard  one,  but  the 
4 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


grandeur  of 
the  scenery 
and  the  nov- 
elty of  the 
experience 
well  repay 
the  fatigue 
and  discom- 
fort endur- 
ed. Further- 
more, with 
good  horses 
and  mules, 
and  a com- 
fortable Chil- 
ian saddle, 
and  with  an 
ample  provi- 
sion of  food, 
drink,  and  other 
useful  commodities, 
the  prudent  traveller 
reduce  to  a minimum 
the  sum  of  possible  woes,  espe- 
cially in  the  fine  months  of  December  and 
January,  when  ladies  even  venture  to  under- 
take the  journey.  As  we  were  scaling  the 
zigzag  path  up  the  Cumbre  we  met  a party 
of  about  fifty  men  and  women  who  were 
crossing  on  foot,  but  their  lot  was  not  to  be 
envied.  These  were  poor  emigrants  who 
had  found  the  promises  of  Chilian  agents  in 
Europe  to  be  fallacious,  and  who  were  wan- 
dering over  into  the  Argentine  in  the  hope  of  better  days.  Of  late, 

I am  told,  great  numbers  of  disappointed  emigrants  pass  from  Chili 
to  Mendoza  by  this  hard  and  dangerous  route,  and  not  a few  have 
succumbed  by  the  way,  a prey  to  the  condors  and  vultures. 

Now  let  us  return  to  the  transandine  railway,  which  we  have  al- 
most forgotten  in  the  narrative  of  our  personal  emotions  and  advent- 


ma\ 


ACONCAGUA  VALLEY  NEAR 
LOS  ANDES. 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


51 


ures,  but  which  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  remarkable  lines  ever 
conceived,  and  which  in  the  course  of  a few  years,  and  even  of  a few 
months,  will  greatly  modify  the  current  of  traffic  across  the  South 
American  continent.  The  originators  of  the  line  are  J.  E.  and  M.  Clark 
Sc  Company,  who  obtained  in  1873  the  first  concession  of  a line  from 
Buenos  Ayres  to  the  Pacific,  passing  through  Villa  Mercedes,  Men- 
doza, and  through  the  Uspallata  Pass  to  the  Chilian  frontier,  with  a 
branch  from  Mendoza  to  San  Juan.  Owing  to  financial  and  political 
difficulties,  this  general  combination  was  not  carried  out.  About  1880 
the  Argentine  Government  built  the  section  from  Villa  Mercedes  to 
Mendoza  and  San  Juan.  In  1883  Clark  Sc  Company  built  the  Pacific 
line  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  Villa  Mercedes,  which  has  since  passed 
into  the  hands  of  an  English  company,  while  the  line  from  Villa  Mer- 
cedes to  Mendoza  has  also  become  the  property  of  an  English  com- 
pany, the  Argentine  Great  Western.  The  actual  works  of  the  trans- 
andine  line  were  begun  in  1887  by  an  English  syndicate  called  the 
Buenos  Ayres  and  Valparaiso  Transandine  Railway  Company,  which 
bought  the  concession  from  Clark  Sc  Company,  and  is  building  the 
line  on  the  Argentine  side,  with  Clark  Sc  Company  as  contractors.  On 
the  Chili  side,  from  Los  Andes  to  the  frontier,  the  line  is  being  built 
by  Clark  & Company,  under  the  title  of  Clark’s  Transandine  Railway. 
Thus,  when  the  route  is  finished,  it  will  run  over  the  rails  of  five  dif- 
ferent companies  between  Buenos  Ayres  and  Valparaiso,  namely,  the 
Pacific,  the  Argentine  Great  Western,  the  Buenos  Ayres  and  Valpa- 
raiso Transandine,  Clark’s  Transandine,  and  lastly  the  Chilian  State 
line,  from  Los  Andes  to  Valparaiso. 

The  first  studies  for  the  mountain  line  were  made  in  1873,  but  a 
serious  survey  was  not  completed  until  1887,  amid  countless  difficul- 
ties, for  the  ground  was  almost  entirely  pathless  and  unknown  both 
geographically  and  geologically.  Up  to  the  present  day  you  find  no 
maps  and  no  literature  about  this  section  of  the  Andes.  The  field  is 
new  and  open  to  future  enterprise.  A glance  at  the  map  on  page  31 
will  show  the  route  finally  selected,  after  many  changes  and  essays. 
The  point  at  which  the  Cordillera  is  to  be  passed  is  situated  in  the 
Cumbre  between  the  two  lofty  snow-clad  peaks  of  Tupungato  towards 
the  south  and  Aconcagua  towards  the  north.  From  the  Chili  side  the 
line  winds  along  the  terraced  mountains  of  the  valley  of  the  Acon- 
cagua River;  from  the  Argentine  side  the  valleys  of  the  Mendoza  and 
Cuevas  rivers  are  followed  amid  innumerable  obstacles,  owing  to  the 


52 


THE  SPAN  ISH-AM  ERIC  AX  REPUBLICS. 


capricious  course  of  the  streams,  the  interruption  caused  by  loose  peb- 
bly earth,  or  ripio,  by  masses  of  gravel  carried  down  by  the  lateral 
torrents  and  piled  up  in  cones,  and  by  barrancas , which  are  vertical 
or  sloping  banks  of  gravel  apparently  deposited  in  times  past  by  the 
rivers.  Some  of  these  barrancas  are  seventy  metres  in  vertical 

height.  Just  beyond  the  point  where  we  last  mentioned  the  track  in 
the  early  pages  of  this  chapter,  at  kilometre  40.200,  there  is  a heavy 
cutting  through  one  of  these  gravel  cones.  At  kilometre  41  the  river 
has  been  diverted,  in  order  to  avoid  a couple  of  bridges.  For  three 
kilometres  the  line  runs  closely  along  the  bottom  of  the  hills  until  it 
reaches  an  open  and  fertile  valley,  with  poplar-trees  and  grazing  cat- 
tle, called  the  Potreros  de  San  Ignacio,  where  it  crosses  again  to  the 
south  side  by  a 75-metre  bridge.  At  kilometre  52  is  a tunnel  of  forty 
metres.  At  kilometre  54.400  the  line  crosses  to  the  north  bank  over 
a 75-metre  bridge,  passes  through  two  short  tunnels,  and  again  crosses 
to  the  south  side  by  a 75-metre  bridge,  returning  once  more  to  the 
north  side  by  a similar  bridge  at  kilometre  62.400.  At  kilometre 
68  after  a stretch  of  easy  ground,  there  is  a big  cutting  through  an 
immense  gravel  cone,  and  then  from  kilometre  69  to  72  the  line  is 
benched  on  the  rock  with  two  short  tunnels,  which  bring  us  to  the 
last  important  bridge  of  sixty  metres  across  the  Mendoza  to  the  south 
bank.  At  kilometre  75,  after  passing  with  one  short  tunnel  along  the 
Cerro  Negro,  the  line  reaches  the  open  Pampa  del  Alumbre,  which  it 
follows  to  kilometre  81,  the  only  break  being  a climb  and  a descent 
over  a large  gravel  cone  thrown  out  from  an  intermittent  river  in  the 
centre  of  the  pampa.  From  kilometre  81  to  89  the  line  runs  along 
the  precipitous  face  of  a broken  mountain,  on  a ledge  blasted  out  of 
red  granite  rock,  with  one  short  tunnel.  So  we  reach  the  station  of 
Uspallata,  at  kilometre  91,  whence  the  line  passes  midway  between 
the  river  and  the  mountains  over  a bare  stony  plain  to  kilometre  105, 
where  it  clings  close  to  the  mountain  to  avoid  a large  and  curious 
barranca  some  seventy  metres  in  vertical  height.  At  kilometre  106 
the  Uspallata  Pampa  is  left  behind,  and  the  line  enters  the  upper  val- 
ley between  the  Paramillos,  which  is  a range  parallel  with  the  Andes, 
forming  a sort  of  avant-garde , and  attaining  heights  of  from  two  to 
three  thousand  metres.  At  kilometre  114  there  is  a short  piece  of 
broken  ground,  with  a tunnel  through  a rock  spur ; but  after  this  the 
track  becomes  easy  up  to  kilometre  121,  where  the  turbulent  Rio 
Blanco  is  reached.  As  far  as  this  point  the  earthworks  of  the  line 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


53 


LOS  LOROS  (CHILI  SIDE). 


were  nearly  complete  when  I passed.  The  rails  alone  remain  to  be 
laid,  and  the  iron  bridges  to  be  fixed  on  the  columns  of  masonry. 

At  kilometre  121  we  enter  upon  that  portion  of  the  line  which, 
although  the  route  is  practically  settled,  is  not  yet  visible  on  the 
ground,  and  at  this  point  begin  the  difficulties  of  grade,  which  have 
led  to  the  adoption  in  the  upper  part  of  the  Cordillera  of  the  Abt 
rack  system,  about  which  we  shall  have  more  to  say  anon.  Towards 
kilometre  135  there  is  a very  difficult  place  to  pass,  the  whole  valley 
having  been  filled  up  by  slips  from  the  mountains,  which  the  river  has 
subsequently  cut  through.  It  is  at  this  spot,  I understand,  that  the 
first  rack  section  is  necessary.  At  the  level  of  the  Paramillo  de  las 
Vacas  the  line  is  being  built  in  the  river  itself,  on  the  south  side,  on 
an  artificial  embankment  of  rocks.  At  Punta  de  las  Vacas,  where 


54 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


the  earthworks  are  well  advanced,  there  will  be  a station.  From  kilo- 
metre 134  onward  you  can  see  signs  of  avalanches  on  the  north  side 
of  the  valley,  for  which  reason  doubtless  the  line  is  being  placed  on 
the  south  side.  Shortly  above  Punta  de  las  Vacas  the  line  turns 
westward,  entering  the  valley  of  Las  Cuevas,  on  both  sides  of  which 
tht~e  are  avalanches.  These,  however,  can  be  avoided  by  crossing 
and  recrossing  the  river.  Between  Punta  de  las  Vacas  on  the  Argen- 
tine side,  and  Guardia  Yieja  on  the  Chili  side  is  the  region  of  snow 
during  six  months  in  the  year;  but  the  winds,  it  appears,  blow  in  the 
direction  of  the  track,  and  may  be  counted  upon  to  sweep  it  clean. 
From  Punta  de  las  Vacas  up  to  the  Paramillo  de  las  Cuevas  the 
ground  rises  in  steps,  which  will  be  mounted  by  rack  sections  as  far 
as  the  mouth  of  the  first  of  the  tunnels  through  the  Cumbre,  called 
El  Navaro,  from  the  neighboring  river.  This  tunnel,  1775  metres 
long,  will  be  in  two  sections.  Then  crossing  the  Ouebrada  Blanca, 
we  reach  the  second  tunnel  of  Las  Cuevas,  900  metres  long,  and  after 
about  four  kilometres  of  open  ground,  the  line  reaches,  at  kilometre 
175,  the  mouth  of  the  main  tunnel  through  the  Cumbre,  or  dividing 
ridge  of  the  Cordillera.  This  tunnel  will  measure  5065  metres. 

On  the  Chili  side  the  mountains  fall  very  rapidly,  so  much  so  that 
Juncal,  which,  as  the  crow  flies,  is  only  ten  kilometres  from  the  sum- 
mit, is  on  the  same  level  above  the  sea  as  a point  on  the  Argentine 
side  forty-eight  kilometres  from  the  summit.  This  drop  consists  in 
a series  of  enormous  steps,  which  appear  to  have  been  formed  by  falls 
of  rock  that  have  blocked  the  valley,  while  streams  have  filled  up 
behind  each  fall  and  formed  lakes.  Such  a lake  is  the  Laguna  del 
Inca,  the  only  one  remaining,  the  others  having  been  gradually  filled 
up  by  the  water-shed  and  abrasion  of  the  upper  peaks,  so  as  to  be 
now  merely  gravel  plains.  To  carry  the  railway  down  this  terribly 
rapid  fall  has  been  one  of  the  greatest  problems  that  the  engineers 
have  had  to  deal  with,  and  the  solution  will  be  a triumph  of  science 
and  ingenuity.  To  a certain  extent  the  transandine  will  be  a repetition 
of  the  Saint  Gothard  line,  where  the  valley  also  rises  step  by  step  and 
the  track  climbs  by  means  of  helicoidal  tunnels.  The  application  of 
the  rack  grade,  however,  simplifies  the  task  considerably.  Thus  in  the 
great  Cumbre  tunnel  the  line,  after  rising  gently  from  the  east  mouth 
for  about  three  kilometres,  commences  to  fall  by  a rack  grade.  The 
western  mouth  of  this  tunnel  is  attained  at  the  head  of  the  Calaveras 
Valley,  where  a short  open  cutting  intervenes  between  it  and  the  next 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES.  55 

or  Calaveras  tunnel  of  3750  metres,  followed  by  the  Portillo  tunnel 
of  1885  metres,  which  is  helicoidal,  having  one  complete  corkscrew 
turn,  with  an  eight  per  cent,  grade  and  a vertical  drop  of  about  135 
metres.  It  is  needless,  perhaps,  to  explain  that  the  development  of  the 
line  in  a corkscrew  turn  is  required  to  gain  length  for  the  incline. 
Then  come  the  Juncalillo  tunnel  of  1275  metres,  and  the  Juncal  tunnel 


of  1104  metres,  which 
bring  the  line  on  to 
the  spur  of  the  mountain  be- 
tween the  valleys  of  the  Jun- 
and  190  metres  above  the 
valleys.  This  height  will  ne- 
ation  of  the  rack'  grade  until 
is  reached.  The  entrance  of 
3178  metres  above  the  level 
mouth  of  the  Juncal  tunnel 
2224  metres  above  the  sea,  thus  showing  a difference  of  level  of  954 
metres,  which  is  overcome  by  inclined  tunnels  and  by  one  continuous 
section  of  rack  grade,  starting  at  three  kilometres  from  the  entrance 
of  the  great  Cumbre  tunnel. 

After  leaving  the  tunnels  the  line  turns  upon  itself,  and  goes  down 


LAGUNA 
DEL  INCA. 


cal  and  Juncalillo 
junction  of  these  two 
cessitate  the  continu- 
the  level  of  the  river 
the  Cumbre  tunnel  is 
of  the  sea,  and  the 
on  the  Chili  side  is 


56 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


the  valley  of  the  Rio  Aconcagua  with  ordinary  grades,  though  as  far 
as  the  Rio  Blanco  certain  lengths  of  rack  will  be  introduced,  and  per- 
haps other  lengths  will  be  necessary  lower  down,  where  the  studies 
have  not  yet  been  completed,  for  at  the  time  of  my  visit  only  about 
twelve  kilometres  of  the  line  were  laid  from  Los  Andes  up  the  valley. 
On  the  Chilian  side,  however,  the  line  will  be  exceedingly  picturesque, 
and  will  pass  several  curious  natural  phenomena,  notably  the  Salto  del 
Soldado,  some  twenty-five  kilometres  from  Santa  Rosa,  a dike  of  rock 
going  right  across  the  river.  The  back  of  this  dike  seems  to  have 
been  broken  by  volcanic  agency,  and  the  river  passes  through  it,  as 
the  railway  will  pass  also. 

The  line  on  the  Chilian  side  from  Santa  Rosa  to  the  frontier  will 
measure  65  kilometres,  and  on  the  Argentine  side  from  the  frontier 
to  Mendoza  177  kilometres.  The  starting-point  at  Mendoza  is  719 
metres  above  the  level  of  the  sea ; the  starting-point  at  Santa  Rosa  is 
820  metres;  the  highest  summit  level  in  the  Cumbre  tunnel  is  3189 
metres  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  On  the  ordinary  track  the  grades 
are  25  per  thousand,  or  1 in  40;  on  the  rack  sections  the  grades  are 
eight  per  cent.,  or  1 in  12L  The  gauge  is  one  metre,  and  the  mini- 
mum curves  are  100  metres  radius,  though  the  concession  allows 
curves  of  80  metres.  The  adoption  of  this  narrow  gauge  will  neces- 
sitate the  transfer  of  goods  and  passengers  at  Mendoza  and  Los  An- 
des, which  is,  of  course,  a serious  disadvantage ; on  the  other  hand,  it 
enables  the  line  to  be  built  at  much  less  expense  than  if  a broader 
gauge  were  employed,  and  at  the  same  time  permits  sharp  curves  of 
short  radius,  whereas  a broader  gauge  would  require  curves  of  250  to 
300  metres.  As  the  line  is  singularly  tortuous  and  the  curves  in- 
numerable, this  consideration  of  sharp  curves  is  very  important. 

As  to  price,  the  engineers  of  the  line  believe  that  the  transandine 
will  be  relatively  cheaper  than  the  Saint  Gothard;  the  works  are  be- 
ing executed  much  more  roughly,  it  is  true;  but  all  statements  on  this 
point  would  be  hazardous  and  premature.  It  suffices  to  say  that  there 
is  money  enough  at  command  to  complete  it,  whatever  it  may  cost. 

The  great  work  of  boring  the  tunnels  will  take  some  years,  but  as 
they  are  broken  up  into  sections  the  task  will  not  be  so  long  as  some 
anticipate.  When  I passed  over  the  ground  the  faces  of  the  summit 
tunnels  were  being  cleared,  and  the  drills,  it  is  hoped,  will  be  in  posi- 
tion before  the  end  of  1890.  The  machinery  used  will  be  the  Fer- 
roux  rock-drills,  which  were  employed  in  the  works  of  the  Mont 


JUNCTION  OF  THE  RIVERS  JUNCAL  AND  BLANCO  (CHILIAN  SIDE) 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


59 


Cenis,  Saint  Gothard,  and  Arlberg  tunnels,  the  motive  power  being 
electricity.  At  Juncal  is  a water-fall  of  180  metres,  which  will  be  uti- 
lized to  drive  75-horse-power  turbines  of  two  feet  diameter,  with  verti- 
cal axes,  which  will  work  the  dynamos  directly.  The  motive  force  for 
the  Portillo,  Calveras,  and  Cumbre  tunnels  will  therefore  be  concen- 
trated at  Juncal,  and  distributed  by  means  of  cables  to  the  receiving 
dynamos  at  the  various  points  where  air-compressors  and  drills  will 
be  at  work.  The  turbines  used  are  made  by  Escher,  Wyss  & Co.,  of 
Zurich.  At  the  lowest  estimate  the  boring  of  the  tunnels  will  take 
from  three  and  a half  to  four  years,  providing,  as  it  is  believed,  that 
the  work  underground  can  continue  winter  and  summer  without  in- 
termission. The  rock  of  the  Cumbre  is  porphyric,  while  in  the  lower 
valleys  it  is  chiefly  granitic  and  basaltic.  In  the  centre  of  the  Cum- 
bre it  is  likely  that  granite  will  be  found,  but,  as  we  have  already  seen, 
all  this  is  new  ground,  and  the  geology  of  the  Andes  has  still  to  be 
studied. 

As  regards  the  Abt  system,  perfected  by  Roman  Abt,  of  Luzern, 
Switzerland,  and  now  in  use  on  the  Hartz  Railway,  the  lines  of  Hol- 
lenthal  (Grand  Duchy  of  Baden),  Brunig  (Switzerland),  Viege  to  Zer- 
matt, Bolan  Pass  in  Afghanistan,  in  Venezuela,  and  on  many  industrial 
lines  in  Switzerland,  Germany,  and  Hungary,  we  need  only  remind 
the  reader  that  it  had  its  origin  in  the  railway  up  Mount  Washington, 
where  a rack  was  first  employed.  Riggenbach,  of  Aaran,  in  Switzer- 
land, introduced  it  in  the  Rhigi  Railway,  and  his  modification  was 
applied  on  the  Brazilian  line  from  Rio  Janeiro  to  Corcovado.  Abt 
further  modified  the  rack  system,  his  transformation  of  it  consisting 
chiefly  in  the  construction  of  a locomotive  of  mixed  traction,  which 
can  work  either  by  simple  adherence  or  by  adherence  in  a geared 
rack,  whereas  the  Riggenbach  locomotive  can  only  work  on  a rack. 
In  short,  the  Abt  machine  is  an  ordinary  locomotive  with  a special  and 
independent  motor  attached  to  work  on  the  rack.  Thus  the  passage 
from  the  ordinary  lines  and  grades  to  the  rack  sections  causes  neither 
trouble  nor  delay.  The  Abt  system  is  considered  to  have  the  advan- 
tage of  extreme  safety,  owing  to  the  triple  gearing  of  the  rack,  which 
is  placed  some  seven  centimetres  above  the  level  of  the  ordinary  rails, 
and  does  not  become  clogged  with  snow.  Its  adoption  over  a certain 
part  of  the  transandine  line  enables  the  constructors  to  equalize  and 
diminish  the  average  gradients  on  the  remaining  portion  of  the  line. 
Furthermore,  it  neutralizes  the  minor  disadvantages  attached  to  in- 


6o 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


equality  of  surface,  and  enables  them  to  surmount  them  with  compara- 
tive ease,  and  to  approach  the  central  chain  of  the  Andes  at  the  spot 
where  it  is  most  suitable  for  tunnelling. 

In  order  fully  to  realize  the  natural  difficulties  of  this  great  trans- 
andine  enterprise,  one  must  have  been  over  the  ground,  examined  the 
peculiar  dangers  due  to  landslips,  torrents,  and  avalanches,  and  passed 
through  the  silent  region  of  eternal  snows  which  the  line  avoids  by 
burying  itself  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  One  must  have  seen,  too, 
the  mountain-side  dotted  with  long  strings  of  pack-mules,  laden  with 
timber,  iron,  bricks,  and  even  with  their  own  fodder,  for  everything 
used  in  the  construction  of  the  line  hitherto  has  been  brought  by 
thousands  of  mules  either  from  Mendoza  or  Los  Andes.  However, 
now  the  works  are  beginning  to  become  easier.  The  rails  are  being 
laid  more  rapidly,  but  we  cannot  hope  to  see  the  whole  line  in  work- 
ing order  before  1895. 

The  business  prospects  of  the  line  seem  fair  to  those  who  have 
put  money  into  the  enterprise,  the  main  element  of  income  being  ex- 
pected from  passenger  traffic.  At  present,  during  the  five  summer 
months,  there  is  an  average  of  twenty-five  passengers  a day  crossing 
in  each  direction.  When  the  railway  is  open  this  number  will  in- 
crease perhaps  tenfold.  A second  source  of  revenue  will  be  local 
traffic  and  merchandise  between  Chili  and  the  Argentine  provinces 
of  Mendoza,  San  Juan,  and  San  Luis.  A third  element  of  profit  is 
looked  for  in  the  transport  of  cattle  from  the  Argentine  to  Chili.  At 
present  some  40,000  to  50,000  head  are  driven  over  yearly  by  the 
Uspallata  Pass.  These  cattle  arrive  in  Chili  mere  skeletons,  and  have 
to  be  fattened  in  Chilian  potreros,  where  pasture  is  very  dear;  where- 
as, by  the  line,  they  can  be  carried  over  fattened  and  ready  for  killing. 
Fourthly,  it  is  hoped  that  mines  will  be  discovered  and  worked  in  the 
region  opened  up  by  the  railway.  As  for  general  merchandise  and 
imported  goods,  the  transandine  will  not  be  able  to  compete  with 
steamboat  freights,  and  therefore  the  port  of  Valparaiso  will  retain 
all  its  importance. 

In  conclusion  it  may  be  said  that  two  rival  transandine  lines  are 
already  in  construction  or  projected.  One  is  J.  Puelma  Tupper's 
Ferrocarril  Trasandino  del  Norte,  from  Copiapo  to  Cordoba,  putting 
the  Chilian  port  of  Caldera  in  communication  with  the  Argentine 
ports  of  Rosario,  Buenos  Ayres,  and  Santa  Fe.  The  other  is  F.  Bus- 
tamante & Company’s  Ferrocarril  Interoceanico,  from  Buenos  Ayres 


ACROSS  THE  ANDES. 


61 


to  Yumbel,  on  the  southern  Chili  line,  crossing  the  Andes  by  the 
Antuco  Pass,  at  a height  of  less  than  6000  feet,  and  with  ordinary 
grades  of  2\  per  cent,  maximum.  This  line  will  measure  1412  kilome- 
tres of  5J  feet  gauge,  the  same  as  the  Chilian  lines  from  Yumbel  to 
Talcahuano  and  Santiago.  The  construction  of  this  line  is  already 
begun  on  the  Chilian  side.  Both  these  railways,  if  ever  they  are  com- 
pleted, will  be  of  great  utility  and  open  up  vast  regions  to  agriculture 
and  commerce,  but,  from  the  point  of  view  of  prodigious  difficulties 
surmounted  by  bold  and  skilful  engineering,  they  cannot  be  compared 
with  the  transandine  route,  which  I visited  with  so  much  interest,  and 
have  described  so  inadequately. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL 


HE  favorable  impression  of  Chili  which  I had  received  in  de- 


scending  the  western  slopes  of  the  Cordillera  was  augmented 
when  I reached  the  village,  or  perhaps  I should  say  town,  of  Santa 
Rosa  de  los  Andes.  This  was  my  first  experience  of  a Chilian  hotel. 
As  we  rode  up  through  clouds  of  dust  the  exterior  of  the  one-story 
“adobe’’  buildings  of  the  Hotel  del  Comercio  did  not  seem  inviting. 
Inside,  however,  I found  a series  of  court-yards,  or  patios , avenues  of 
trellised  vines,  aviaries,  canalized  watercourses,  and  other  pleasant  feat- 
ures. I hired  a room  in  the  first  patio , with  an  outlook  upon  the 
flowering  shrubs,  the  fountain,  and  the  wonderful  imitation  marble 
statues  which  stood  around  it.  Who  would  have  expected  to  find 
specime-ns  of  Greek  sculpture — of  the  period  of  decadence,  it  is  true — 
at  the  foot  of  the  Andes  ? 

Dusty  as  I was,  and  having  been  wholly  deprived  of  the  use  of 
soap  and  water  during  my  six  days’  journey  across  the  mountains, 
the  old  prejudices  of  the  dweller  in  towns  asserted  themselves,  and 
I asked  the  landlady,  in  an  off-hand  and  half -apologetic  tone,  if  it 
would  be  possible  to  have  a bath.  “ Como  no ?"  she  replied,  with  the 
usual  Chilian  formula  of  ready  affirmation,  and  added : “ Would  you 
like  a swimming  bath?”  “Is  there  a swimming  bath  in  the  hotel?” 
I asked.  “ Como  no?  The  water  is  not  crystalline,  but  it  is  clean 
and  fresh,  and  brought  from  the  Aconcagua  River  by  an  acequia." 
“ Bueno , vamos  a z^r,”said  I,  and  we  went  to  see.  And  behold  at  the 
end  of  the  garden  was  a tank  some  fifteen  feet  square,  with  water 
running  through  it,  and  overhead,  as  a protection  against  the  sun, 
vines  laden  with  pendent  bunches  of  grapes,  forming,  as  it  were,  a 
ceiling  to  the  bath.  This  was  delightful,  and  I bathed  with  joy. 
Now  after  a bath  a man  needs  refreshment  of  some  kind.  “ Como 
no?"  was  the  invariable  reply;  and  I was  shown  into  a bar-room, 
where  I found  a greater  variety  of  deleterious  drinks  than  you  would 
meet  with  in  similar  establishments  in  Europe  or  the  United  States, 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL 


63 


and  yet  Los  Andes  does  not  boast  3500  inhabitants.  Thus  fortified 
and  rejuvenated,  I was  prepared  to  dine  and  I succeeded  in  dining 
very  fairly,  drank  good  Chilian  wine,  had  a pleasant  talk  with  my 
frjend  Don  Honorio  and  other  gentlemen,  and  after  dinner  took  a 


walk  on  the  plaza,  where  there 
was  a zealous  but  inferior  orchestra 
playing  for  the  distraction  of  “ all 
Los  Andes,”  represented  by  a few 
officers,  employes,  and  shop- 
keepers, a dozen  ladies  wearing 
Parisian  hats  that  were  the  fashion  a year  ago,  and  a few  score 
modest  natives,  the  women  wearing  black  shawls  drawn  mantillawise 
over  their  heads,  and  the  men  draped  in  ponchos , and  sheltered  from 
indiscreet  eyes  by  broad-brimmed  white  straw  hats  with  black  strings 
tied  under  the  chin. 

The  next  day  I explored  Los  Andes  and  its  environs,  and  found 
everything  pleasant  and  interesting.  I must,  however,  observe,  in  jus- 
tice to  Chili  and  the  Chilians,  that  Los  Andes  is  in  reality  a miserable 


HOTEL  COURT-YARD  IN  LOS  ANDES. 


64 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


little  place  of  no  particular  importance,  but  it  is  precisely  on  this  ac- 
count that  I dwell  upon  its  agreeable  features.  I might  have  selected 
for  my  observations  San  Felipe,  for  instance,  the  capital  of  the  prov- 
ince of  Aconcagua,  with  12,000  inhabitants;  but  the  merit  of  evi- 
dences of  civilization  in  San  Felipe  is  less  than  in  Los  Andes,  and 
although  the  former  town  has  nearly  four  times  the  population  of  the 
latter.it  is  not  relatively  more  civilized  or  more  agreeable.  Indeed,  in 
general  aspect  all  the  little  towns  of  the  agricultural  provinces  of  Chili 
are  similar,  and  a description  of  one  will  serve  for  all.  The  situation 
of  Los  Andes  is  peculiarly  charming,  and  one  may  imagine  that  one 
day  enterprise  might  convert  it  into  an  admirable  health  and  pleasure 
resort.  All  around  the  mountains  rise  with  snow-capped  peaks  and 
blue  mystery.  The  streets  are  laid  out  rectangularly  in  uniform  cua- 
dras,  according  to  the  invariable  Spanish  custom.  With  very  few  ex- 
ceptions the  houses  are  one  story  high,  and  built  of  sun-dried  or  adobe 
bricks,  with  grayish-red-tiled  roofs,  the  walls  being  stuccoed,  and  col- 
ored rose,  yellow,  blue,  and  other  shades.  The  long  straight  streets 
are  deep  in  dust;  an  acequia,  or  open  channel  of  water,  flows  down  the 
middle  or  the  side,  and  serves  for  drainage,  and  even  for  domestic  pur- 
poses, while  outside  the  town  it  forms  part  of  a series  of  irrigating 
canals ; the  sidewalks  alone  are  paved  with  round  pebbles.  The 
shops  are  general  stores  for  the  sale  of  imported  manufactured  goods, 
Parisian  perfumery,  and  “ notions  ;”  provision  stores  ; despachos  for  the 
sale  of  watermelons,  vegetables,  aguardiente,  pisco,  anisado , chic  ha,  and 
other  drinks ; butchers’  shops  of  uninviting  looks ; saddlery  and 
leather  work-shops ; cigarrerias , at  the  doors  of  which  you  see  the  em- 
ployes sitting  on  stools  and  utilizing  their  leisure  in  rolling  cigarettes 
in  the  thin  fibrous  leaf  that  envelops  the  corn-cob;  these  hand-made 
cigarrillos  de  hoja  are  a specialty  of  Chili,  where  paper  cigarettes  are 
very  little  used.  In  the  centre  of  the  town  is  the  plaza,  with  the  mid- 
dle carefully  railed  off  and  provided  with  gates,  which  are  closed  at 
night,  in  order  to  preserve  the  flowers  and  plants  from  marauders, 
petty  thieving  being  a weakness  of  the  Chilenos.  The  plaza  is  well 
supplied  with  benches,  and  around  it  are  the  public  buildings,  the 
town-hall  and  the  church,  the  latter  a wooden  structure  in  the  Doric 
style,  the  mock  columns  painted  white  to  imitate  marble,  and  the  rest 
of  the  church  painted  chocolate-color.  This  wooden  church  is  not 
necessarily  to  be  regarded  as  a sign  of  poverty,  any  more  than  the 
one-story  buildings  of  sun-dried  bricks  and  mud ; these  materials  are 


CHILIAN  COUNTRY-HOUSE. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILI. 


67 


selected  because  they  are  light  and  elastic  and  resist  earthquakes, 
whereas  stone  or  brick  would  fall  and  crush  the  inmates  to  death;  for 
Chili,  it  must  be  remembered,  is  still  subject  to  volcanic  commotions, 
and  counts  a considerable  number  of  active  craters.  Finally,  we  must 
mention  a fine  alameda  and  broad  exterior  boulevards,  lined  with 
splendid  trees,  under  which  you  see  the  peasant  people  in  the  morn- 
ing breakfasting  before  returning  to  their  farms — the  husband  in  the 
saddle;  the  wife,  in  a gay  shrimp-colored  dress,  riding  en  croupe.  In 
the  morning  these  boulevards  are  quite  animated.  Horsemen  wear- 
ing enormous  hats,  prodigious  spurs,  and  bright-colored  ponchos  ride 
to  and  fro,  while  wagons  of  primitive  build  and  groaning  wheels, 
drawn  by  two  or  three  yokes  of  oxen,  bring  in  square  bundles  of 
chopped  and  compressed  alfalfa,  a sort  of  lucern,  the  culture  and  ex- 
port of  which  is  one  of  the  principal  industries  of  the  province  of 
Aconcagua,  being  centred  chiefly  in  the  towns  of  Curimon,  San 
Felipe,  and  Los  Andes.  The  great  market  for  this  fodder  is  the  ni- 
trate desert  and  mineral  zone  of  Chili,  between  latitude  180  and  27°, 
where  there  is  no  vegetation,  and  where  every  green  sprig  has  to  be 
imported.  In  the  evening  the  town  becomes  relatively  lively.  Shops 
are  revealed  by  brilliant  gas-lights  when  night  closes  in ; dark  forms  of 
women  swathed  in  black  shawls  glide  along  the  streets ; there  is  a 
subdued  hum  of  conversation,  and  in  the  distance  the  intermittent 
bass  drum  of  some  ambulant  circus  from  the  sister  republic  of  the 
United  States. 

Los  Andes  is  at  present  the  terminus  of  the  branch  line  of  the 
Chilian  state  railways  which  starts  from  Llaillai,  the  junction  of  the 
Santiago  and  Valparaiso  line,  and  will  ultimately  join  the  great  trans- 
andine  railway  to  Mendoza  and  the  Argentine.  The  ride  through  the 
Aconcagua  Valley  is  rich  in  fine  scenery.  The  grand  outlines  of  the 
Andes  always  form  the  background.  In  the  middle  distance  are  the 
vast  alfalfa  fields,  marked  off  with  rows  of  graceful  poplars  and  weep- 
ing-willows, and  traversed  by  symmetrical  irrigation  canals  derived 
from  the  Aconcagua,  whose  milky  torrent  rolls  capriciously  over  a 
broad,  dazzlingly  white  bed  of  stones  and  pebbles.  In  the  foreground 
is  the  luxuriant  vegetation  of  vineyards,  orchards,  quick  hedges  of 
gigantic  growth,  and  gardens  brilliant  with  the  floral  charm  of  climb- 
ing roses,  jasmine,  and  wistaria.  In  the  midst  of  this  rich  vegetation, 
due  to  an  excellent  system  of  irrigation,  which  renders  the  farmer 
independent  of  rainfall  or  drought,  the  towns  are  dotted  here  and 


68 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


there,  reddish-gray  patches  of  fluted  tile  roofs  in  a bouquet  of  sway- 
ing poplars. 

Chili,  which  on  the  map  appears  to  be  2000  miles  long  and  two 
inches  broad,  extends  from  latitude  170  47'  southward  to  Cape  Horn, 
and  measures  more  than  2500  miles  in  length,  while  the  breadth  of 
the  territory  from  the  Andes  to  the  Pacific  varies  from  100  to  180 
miles,  thus  giving  a total  area  of  more  than  300,000  square  miles.  On 
the  east  are  the  lofty  summits  of  the  Andes,  while  on  the  west,  touch- 
ing more  or  less  the  Pacific  Ocean,  runs  the  parallel  range  of  the  coast 
mountains,  or  Cordillera  de  la  Costa.  Between  these  two  chains,  like 
a broad  river  between  high  banks,  the  central  valley  lies,  being  pro- 
longed without  interruption  from  latitude  33J  to  41 0 30',  within  which 
space  are  situated  the  principal  towns  and  the  best  cultivated  land, 
from  the  transverse  valleys  of  the  Aconcagua  and  Ouillota  down  to 
Port  Montt,  where  the  continent  proper  ends,  and  the  island  territory 
begins.  We  may  again  divide  this  long  band  of  country  into  four 
zones,  which  are : 

1.  The  mineral  zone,  from  i8°to  27°,  comprising  the  provinces  of 
Tacna,  Tarapaca,  Antofagasta,  and  the  northern  half  of  Atacama. 

2.  The  mineral  and  agricultural  zone,  from  270  to  320,  com- 
prising part  of  Atacama  and  the  provinces  of  Coquimbo  and 
Aconcagua. 

3.  The  agricultural  zone  proper,  from  32  to  41°  30',  comprising 
the  provinces  of  Valparaiso,  Santiago,  O'Higgins,  Colchagua,  Curico, 
Talca,  Linares,  Maule,  Nuble,  Concepcion,  Bio-Bio,  Arauco,  Malleco, 
Cautin,  Valdivia,  Llanquihue. 

4.  The  timber  and  fisheries  zone,  including  all  the  southern  end 
of  Chili,  composed  of  primitive  forests,  islands,  and  lakes,  between 
41°  30'  and  55°. 

A glance  at  the  map  will  show,  as  it  were,  a continuous  system 
of  lakes  in  the  centre  of  this  extreme  southern  zone,  suggesting  the 
hypothesis  that  in  former  times  these  lakes  reached  all  up  the  coast 
between  the  two  Cordilleras.  This  supposition  is  confirmed  by  an 
examination  both  of  the  northern  deserts,  and  more  particularly  of  the 
second  and  third  zones,  where  the  series  of  level  valleys  are  evidently 
old  sea-bottoms,  the  basins  of  great  lakes,  whose  waters  on  retiring, 
through  Plutonic  action,  left  more  or  less  rich  deposits  of  soil  brought 
down  from  the  mountains.  As  you  travel  along  the  southern  line 
you  can  distinguish  lake  after  lake,  each  with  its  outlet,  and  each  with 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL  69 

its  river  or  torrent,  which  continues  to  wash  down  from  the  moun- 
tains the  alluvium  that  produces  such  rich  crops. 

The  part  of  Chili  which  I first  visited  was  the  agricultural  zone 
proper.  Being  incompetent  to  speak  of  agricultural  matters  techni- 
cally or  scientifically,  and  not  having  been  gifted  by  nature  with  the 
bucolic  and  descriptive  talents  of  Virgil  or  of  Hesiod,  I shall  simply 
record  the  rapid  impressions  of  a layman,  and  intermix  agriculture 
with  notes  of  urban  manners  and  general  jottings  by  the  way.  The 
reader  who  may  not  be  satisfied  with  this  want  of  plan  will  kindly  refer 
to  tabulated  statistics  and  special  treatises,  which  latter  have,  however, 
still  to  be  elaborated  so  far  as  Chili  is  concerned.  So,  then,  I will 
first  beg  permission  to  record  the  agreeable  surprise  with  which  I 
beheld  the  railway  train  that  was  waiting  for  us  at  Llaillai  when  we 
steamed  in  from  Los  Andes  in  comparatively  antiquated  cars.  It  was 
a regular  American  train,  with  locomotive  and  rolling  stock  of  the 
most  approved  model,  including  a fine  saloon  chair  car,  called  here  a 
Spooner  car,  from  the  name  of  the  American  gentleman,  Mr.  John  A. 
Spooner,  who  has  introduced  these  blessings  into  Chili.  I entered 
this  Spooner  car  with  astonishment.  What  a civilized  country  this 
is!  I thought  to  myself.  Saloon-cars  in  Europe  are  still  rare.  In 
country  towns  in  Europe  you  do  not  find  hotels  with  statuary  in  the 
front  patio  and  swimming  baths  in  the  back  yard.  Even  in  big  towns 
in  the  United  States  you  will  look  in  vain  for  a pretty  plaza  or  prom- 
enade, such  as  they  have  at  Los  Andes,  and,  as  far  as  my  experience 
goes,  in  every  Chilian  village.  And  yet  here  have  I been  living  in 
the  vague  belief  that  Chili  is  a semi-barbarous  country,  inhabited  by 
rastacouercs  with  blue-black  beards,  who  wear  gigantic  diamonds  and 
oppress  the  poor  Indian.  In  fact,  I knew  nothing  about  Chili  beyond 
its  geographical  position,  and  that,  too,  only  approximately.  But  here 
I was  actually  in  Chili,  in  a saloon-car  running  between  Santiago  and 
Valparaiso.  At  the  door  are  brown-faced  newsboys,  with  a good  deal 
of  Indian  blood  in  their  veins,  but  just  as  noisy  and  enterprising  as 
young  men  in  the  same  profession  in  more  northern  latitudes.  “ El 
Fervocarril,  La  Union,  La  Epoca  tengo  /”  they  cry.  “ El  Mercurio  ! 
El  Hcraldo  /”  “ Diarios,  seiior;  newspapers!  Buy  some  papers  to 

read  on  the  road,  sir !” 

There  is  a ringing  of  bells  and  a blowing  of  whistles,  and  we  are 
off.  Half  the  passengers  are  talking  English,  and  the  others  are  so 
cosmopolitan  and  correct  in  aspect  and  manners  that  I am  inclined  to 


70 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


wish  for  a little  local  color  and  a little  more  character.  One  blond 
Englishman  is  reading  a railway  novel;  another  has  a bundle  of  illus- 
trated papers  from  the  old  country;  a third  is  reading  to  his  friend  a 
Spanish  journal,  El  Heraldo , which  prints  its  telegraphic  news  in  Eng- 
lish. The  ladies  in  the  car  are  English  or  American  as  well  as  Chil- 


ian, and  their  costume 
tion  in  Broadway  or  Re- 
its  smod  taste.  The  con- 

O 

kepis  and  silk  dust-coats, 
polite  as  the  passengers. 


URMENETA  VINEYARD. 


would  not  attract  atten- 
gent  Street,  except  for 
ductors,  with  their  white 
are  as  cosmopolitan  and 
All  this,  especially  the 


predominating  Anglo-Saxon  element,  is  rather  surprising  to  the  new- 
comer, who  has  yet  to  learn  that  Valparaiso  is  an  English  town,  and 
who  does  not  remember  that,  commercially  speaking,  Chili  has  for 
years  been  more  or  less  an  English  province.  At  Limache  we  are 
to  get  out,  our  object  being  to  visit  the  vineyards  known  as  “Lo 
Urmeneta,”  situated  in  a charming  valley  hemmed  in  with  brown  hills, 
about  twenty  miles  from  Valparaiso.  As  the  Westinghouse  brake 
grips  the  wheels,  and  the  train  slows  into  the  station,  we  see  bevies 
of  ladies  promenading  on  the  platforms,  dressed  in  the  gayest  of 
summer  costumes  and  the  most  coquettish  hats  that  Paris  invented — 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL 


71 


a year  ago.  Outside  the  station  a score  of  boys  and  girls  on  horse- 
back inspect  the  new  arrivals;  for  in  Limache,  as  in  all  Chilian  towns, 
whether  they  be  summer  resorts  or  not,  one  of  the  great  distrac-  • 
tions  is  to  ride  or  walk  down  to  the  station  to  see  the  trains 
come  in.  The  variety  of  types  is  great.  The  olive-skinned  creole ; 
the  flaxen -haired  Anglo-Saxon;  the  black-eyed  Chilian  maidens, 
with  oval  faces  and  full,  puffy  cheeks;  the  blue-eyed  English  girls, 
who  chatter  at  one  moment  in  the  familiar  tongue,  and  the  next  mo- 
ment in  stately  Spanish;  the  swarms  of  little  boys  and  girls,  happy 
families  of  ten  or  fifteen  young  people,  all  correctly  dressed,  well- 
behaved,  and  radiant  with  liealth  and  felicity — present  a picture  of 
singular  animation,  and  an  aspect  of  complete  civilization,  which  the 
European  traveller  contemplates  at  first  sight  with  unpardonable  but 
none  the  less  real  astonishment.  This  feeling  is,  of  course,  absurd ; 
but,  nevertheless,  I do  not  hesitate  to  record  the  fact  that  throughout 
my  stay  in  the  republic  of  Chili  I was  in  a perpetual  state  of  agreeable 
surprise,  the  sum  and  substance  of  which  might  be  resumed  in  a con- 
fession of  previous  and  culpable  ignorance.  I had  no  idea  that  Chili 
was  such  a pleasant  country  so  far  as  concerns  physical  features,  cli- 
mate, and  landscape.  As  for  the  Chilians,  naturally  I had  met  some 
in  various  parts  of  the  world.  I am  convinced,  too,  that  there  are 
agreeable  people  to  be  found  in  all  lands ; but  still  I had  not,  in  the 
slightest  degree,  anticipated  the  comparative  completeness  of  the 
material  organization  of  civilized  life  in  Chili,  the  general  comfort  and 
conveniency  of  existence  in  the  principal  towns,  the  many  facilities 
for  living  without  friction  and  without  immoderate  effort.  At  this 
little  town  of  Limache,  for  instance,  which  has  only  6500  inhabitants, 

I found  myself  in  telephonic  communication  with  Santiago  and  Valpa- 
raiso, and  I stayed  in  a very  comfortable  and  well-kept  hotel,  with  vast 
gardens,  orchards,  a park,  a river  swimming  bath,  lawn-tennis  ground, 
and  other  conveniences,  all  at  the  free  disposal  of  visitors.  However, 
my  visit  to  Limache  had  not  so  much  a social  as  a practical  object. 
Let  us  get  to  the  point,  which  is  the  Urmeneta  Vineyard  and  wine 
culture  in  Chili. 

In  order  to  reach  this  vineyard  we  hired  a carriage  and  a team  of 
three  horses;  but  we  strayed  by  the  way-side,  and  first  of  all  paid  a 
visit  to  Don  Joaquin  and  his  brother,  who  have  a small  vineyard  of 
some  40,000  plants,  and  a local  reputation  as  expert  makers  of  chicJia. 
This  is  an  excellent  and  wholesome  drink,  worthy  of  the  attention  of 


72  THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 

Californian  and  other  wine-growers.  In  Chili  it  may  be  regarded  as 
the  national  beverage,  the  great  popular  provoker  of  merriment,  and 
the  source  of  all  that  is  truly  original  in  that  variation  of  the  Spanish 
jota  known  in  Chili  as  la  cueca.  After  drinking  a certain  amount  of 
chic  ha , the  Chilians  must  dance  the  cueca.  This  drink  is  cooked  wine. 
The  operation  of  making  it  is  as  follows : the  grapes,  having  been 
gathered  and  brought  in,  are  passed  through  a sieve  or  net  of  quarter- 
inch  cord,  with  three-quarter  inch  openings,  forming  a tray  some  three 
feet  long,  two  feet  wide,  and  ten  inches  deep.  This  process  removes 
the  berries  from  the  sprigs.  The  tray  being  placed  over  a hopper, 
and  the  hopper  over  a press  composed  of  two  fluted  cylinders  of 
American  oak,  the  berries  pass  between  the  rollers,  and  juice,  skins, 
pips,  and  all  fall  into  a vat,  whence  the  clear  liquid  is  drawn  off  with 
all  speed.  The  sediment  may  be  put  into  a second  press,  and  more 
liquid  obtained,  only  this  second  brewing  will  give  a darker  liquid. 
The  final  sediment  is  used  for  distilling  alcohol,  or  agitardiente.  The 
liquid  juice  is  immediately  put  into  a copper  or  porcelain  boiler,  which 
should  be  shallow  and  open  to  the  air.  Under  this  boiler  a fire 
should  be  lighted,  and  the  liquid  boiled  gently,  the  foam  being  care- 
fully skimmed  off  as  it  rises.  When  the  whole  is  cooked,  a little  vine- 
wood  ash  is  thrown  in  to  clarify  it,  and  the  liquid  is  drawn  off  by  a 
faucet,  and  strained  through  a fine  cloth  filter.  The  time  of  cooking 
was  fixed  by  Don  Joaquin  at  four  hours  for  forty  gallons  of  juice,  and 
the  loss  by  evaporation  at  twelve  to  fifteen  per  cent.  The  liquid, 
boiled  and  strained,  is  poured  into  a vat  and  left  to  ferment;  and 
while  there  still  remains  a little  fermentation  the  chicha  is  again 
strained  through  a cloth,  and  bottled  with  good  corks,  tied  down  with 
string  or  wire.  If  stone  bottles  are  used,  the  chicha  will  remain  good 
for  a year  or  two,  after  which  it  loses  its  peculiar  foaming  and  spark- 
ling quality,  and  becomes  mere  ordinary  white  wine;  whereas  good 
chicha , carefully  put  up  in  glass  bottles,  retains  its  qualities  for  four 
and  five  years,  and  compares  favorably  with  most  of  the  champagne 
in  the  market  nowadays.  In  making  chicha , skill  and  experience  tell 
in  the  boiling,  and  in  choosing  the  exact  moment  for  bottling  the  still 
fermenting  liquid.  As  regards  the  kind  of  grapes  to  be  preferred,  the 
Chilians  use  the  black  San  Francisco  or  Old  Mission  grapes,  white 
Italian  grapes,  pink  Spanish  grapes,  and  white  French  Chasselas.  As 
the  great  question  in  making  chicha  is  quantity  of  juice,  and  not  qual- 
ity, the  trailed  vines  are  to  be  recommended,  because  the  yield  of 


A VAQUERO. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL 


75 


grapes  is  more  abundant  and  the  berry  ripens  more  quickly ; while  for 
making  wine  the  dwarfed  vines  are  best,  because  the  quality  of  the 
grape  is  finer.  I tried  chicha  at  every  opportunity  while  travelling  in 
Chili,  and  as  I found  it  a harmless,  wholesome,  and  excellent  drink,  I 
venture  to  call  attention  to  it. 

Wine-growing,  which  is  daily  becoming  more  and  more  important 
in  modern  Chili,  has  been  practised  there  on  scientific  principles  only 
during  the  second  half  of  this  century.  The  vine  seems  to  have  been 
introduced  by  the  Spanish  conquistadores.  The  white  Muscatel 
grapes  grown  at  Huasco,  which  date  from  the  old  Spanish  times,  are 
still  famous,  and  fetch  high  prices  for  table  use,  both  green  and  dried ; 
but  all  through  the  country  a sort  of  Spanish  or  creole  grape  is 
grown,  and  used  to  make  mosto  and  chacoli , which  is  simply  grape 
juice  for  immediate  consumption ; and  pisco,  which  is  an  excellent 
grape  alcohol  when  well  made.  The  introduction  of  French  vines 
and  French  methods  of  culture  and  manufacture  date,  as  far  as  I can 
discover,  from  about  1850,  when  the  Ochagavia  Vineyard,  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Santiago,  was  planted  with  French  Burgundy  plants.  A short 
time  afterwards  the  Totoral  Vineyard,  in  the  Itata  Valley,  near  Tome, 
in  the  province  of  Concepcion,  was  planted  with  Bordeaux  vines.  The 
Subercaseaux  Bordeaux  Vineyard  dates  from  about  1857,  and  the  Ur- 
meneta  from  1862.  Other  notable  vineyards  are  Panquehue  (Erra- 
zuriz),  La  Trinidad  (Waddington),  and  Macul  (Cousino).  But  now  the 
quantity  of  land  being  devoted  to  wine  culture  is  increasing  daily,  and 
from  Huasco,  the  extreme  northern  point,  down  to  Valdivia,  in  the 
south,  you  find  vineyards,  for  the  most  part  well  planted  and  well 
kept,  the  plants  being  Bordeaux  or  Burgundy.  The  wine,  however,  is 
different  in  flavor  and  quality  from  French  wine.  The  soil  seems  to 
tend  to  produce  a muscat  taste,  and  many  of  the  wines  are  too  full 
and  complex  in  flavor,  and  too  thick,  resembling  rather  varieties  of 
port  and  sherry  than  claret  or  Burgundy.  Perhaps  of  all  the  estab- 
lished marks  Panquehue  is  the  best  table  wine  grown  in  Chili.  As 
regards  the  extent  of  land  under  grape  culture,  no  statistics  are  at 
present  obtainable ; the  production,  however,  although  increasing  rap- 
idly, is  still  inferior  to  the  demand  for  home  consumption,  and  conse- 
quently the  price  is  very  dear.  The  Urmeneta  Vineyard,  for  instance, 
which  produces  some  240,000  litres  of  wine  per  annum,  sells  in  bottles 
containing  72  centilitres  three  classes,  at  the  following  prices:  ordi- 
nary red  and  white  wine,  $12  Chilian  per  dozen;  superior  red  wine, 


76 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


$16  Chilian.  The  Macul  ordinary  wines  are  sold  direct  at  $8  Chilian 
per  dozen.  The  Tome  ordinary  red  wines  of  good  brands  sell  at 
$6  50  Chilian  per  dozen.  The  retail  price  of  the  native  wines  in  the 
restaurants  and  hotels  throughout  the  country  is  from  $1  50  to  $2  50. 
Doubtless  when  the  production  increases  the  price  will  diminish,  and 
Chili  may  one  day  hope  to  become  an  exporter  of  wines,  for  this 
industry  has  evidently  a great  future,  and  the  country  is  well  adapted 
to  it.  We  must  note  that,  except  in  the  south,  where  there  is  some 
rainfall,  and  where  it  would  perhaps  be  possible  to  make  champagne 
wines,  the  vast  majority  of  the  Chilian  vineyards  are  artificially  irri- 
gated. The  vines  are  planted  about  1.30  metres  apart,  trained  on 
wires  and  dwarfed  as  in  France.  The  ploughing  between  the  rows  is 
done  by  oxen.  The  managers  of  all  the  most  important  vineyards  are 
Frenchmen,  brought  out  specially  and  at  high  salaries.  For  that  mat- 
ter, we  shall  have  further  occasion  to  notice  that  all  the  new  industries 
in  Chili  are  under  the  direction  of  foreigners.  The  out-door  hands 
are  paid  fifty  Chilian  cents  paper  a day,  and  the  cellar  hands  sixty-five 
cents,  and  both  categories  are  lodged  and  fed,  the  same  as  ordinary 
agricultural  laborers  throughout  the  country.  The  lodging,  however, 
even  on  the  best  farms,  is  primitive,  and  the  food  equally  so. 

At  present  Chilian  ^ines  are  pure  and  unsophisticated,  and  no 
fortification  is  required.  The  Limache  wines  contain  11  to  12  per 
cent,  alcohol,  and  the  superior  Carbenet,  grown  on  the  hill -sides  on 
poles  and  not  on  wires,  contain  as  much  as  13^  per  cent.  A scien- 
tific analysis  of  Chilian  wines  has,  however,  not  yet  been  made  in  any 
satisfactory  manner,  and  these  figures  are  only  approximate.  No  ar- 
tificial means  are  employed  for  aging  the  wines,  and  the  whole  proc- 
ess of  manufacture  is  executed  by  hand  labor.  The  ordinary  wines 
are  kept  usually  three  years  in  barrel  before  being  put  on  the  market, 
and  the  fine  wines  as  much  as  six  or  seven  years.  The  first  year  of 
barrel  the  wine  will  be  drawn  off  four  times,  and  the  following  years 
three  times  a year.  The  Chilian  grape  juice  is  rich  and  healthy,  and 
the  only  treatment  it  requires  is  cleanly  and  careful  hand  labor.  The 
wine  made  from  French  grapes  — Carbenet,  Merlot,  Verdot,  Pineo, 
Cote  Rouge,  Cote  d'Estournel,  Riesling,  Chasselas,  and  other  varie- 
ties— keeps  well  in  bottle  for  twelve  years.  The  ordinary  Chilian 
wine  made  from  native  creole  grapes  is  vatted,  for  instance,  in  May, 
sold  the  following  January,  and  will  not  last  more  than  a year.  The 
mosto  wines  of  Southern  Chili  last  longer  than  those  of  the  north, 


AT  A RAILWAY  STATION, 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL 


79 


and  may  be  kept  as  much  as  two  years.  These  creole  grape  juices 
cost  infinitely  less  than  the  real  wine  made  from  French  plants. 
There  is  no  legislation  in  Chili  concerning  the  manufacture  or  sale 
of  wines  and  spirits. 

Among  the  many  hospitable  farms  and  haciendas  that  I visited, 
we  may  take  as  a favorable  specimen  Senora  Isidora  Cousino’s  large 
and  beautiful  estate  at  Macul,  near  Santiago,  which  is  rather,  per- 
haps, a model  farm  than  a commercial  enterprise.  The  whole  ha- 
cienda comprises  500  atadras  irrigated,  and  700  cuadras  of  mountain 
land  without  irrigation.  Forty  ctiadras  are  devoted  to  vines,  which 
produce  over  350,000  litres  a year;  a certain  portion  is  allotted  to 
raising  wheat,  barley,  and  oats  for  home  consumption ; a consider- 
able space  is  laid  out  as  a park,  with  very  fine  and  picturesque  orna- 
mental gardens ; and  the  rest  is  given  up  to  alfalfa  and  grazing.  The 
stud  farm  at  Macul  is  important,  and  the  stock  consists  of  imported 
Clydesdale,  Percheron,  Cleveland,  Anglo-Norman,  and  thorough -bred 
racing  stock,  including  a Yankee  trotter,  in  all,  about  a hundred 
horses,  and  nearly  two  hundred  cows,  bred  from  thorough-bred  im- 
ported French  and  English  Durhams.  This  establishment  being 
rather  an  exceptional  one  from  many  points  of  view,  you  might  ex- 
pect to  find  the  farm  laborers  treated  with  the  same  care  as  the  cat- 
tle. But  no.  They  receive  the  usual  sixty-five  paper  cents  a day, 
with  food  and  lodging  gratis.  The  lodging  consists  of  rooms  in  an 
adobe  building,  with  a beaten  earth  floor,  or  a cane  hut  plastered  over 
with  mud ; while  the  food  is  composed  of  a daily  ration  of  two  pounds 
of  bread  in  the  morning,  and  at  mid-day  an  unlimited  quantity  of 
beans  cooked  in  grease.  That  is  all ; the  laborer  receives  neither 
tea  nor  coffee,  much  less  beer  or  wine.  The  laborers  who  work  per- 
manently on  the  farm  all  the  year  round,  instead  of  being  lodged  in 
barracks,  have  a cottage  and  a bit  of  land,  which  they  are  allowed  to 
cultivate  for  their  own  profit;  but  in  return  for  this  privilege  they 
have  to  work  at  the  rate  of  fifty-five  cents  a day,  or  furnish  a substi- 
tute. The  laborers  of  this  class  are  called  inquilinos , and  are  consid- 
ered to  be  the  stand-by  of  every  farm,  because  their  services  can  al- 
ways be  counted  on  from  year’s  end  to  year’s  end.  Their  cottages 
and  plots  are  invariably  situated  on  the  outskirts  of  an  estate,  at  in- 
tervals one  from  the  other,  so  that,  together  with  their  families,  they 
form  the  natural  cmardians  and  watchmen  of  the  hacienda. 

O 

After  visiting  several  vineyards  and  farms  in  the  central  prov- 


8o 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS, 


inces,  I started  down  southward  by  the  express  train  running  from 
Santiago  to  Talcahuano,  halting  en  route  as  I thought  fit,  and  con- 
tinuing by  the  same  train  another  day.  This  southern  express,  com- 
posed of  locomotive  and  cars  of  the  best  American  models,  runs  583 
kilometres  in  twelve  hours,  with  eighteen  stoppages  and  seventeen 
crossings,  for  the  track  is  single.  The  time  is  reckoned  at  an  average 
of  sixty  kilometres  an  hour,  and  on  some  stretches  even  seventy. 
This  train  arrives  generally  to  the  minute,  and  in  every  respect  can 
be  compared  favorably  with  European  expresses.  The  journey  from 
Santiago  towards  the  south  affords  an  excellent  opportunity  of  observ- 
ing the  culture  of  the  great  central  valley  and  its  geological  forma- 
tion, each  section  being  a drained  lake,  the  bed  of  which  is  being 
continually  enriched  by  the  alluvial  deposit  of  the  mountain  torrents. 
Such  torrents,  which  the  railway  crosses  on  important  bridges,  are 
the  Maipo,  Cachapoal,  Tinguiririca,  Teno,  Maule,  and  Nuble,  whose 
waters  fertilize  the  land  and  turn  the  mills.  In  the  central  section  of 
Chili  all  agriculture  depends  upon  irrigation ; where  there  is  no  water 
and  no  regadores  the  land  is  barren,  and  produces  nothing  but  thorn 
and  scrub;  and  as  the  quantity  of  water  which  the  little  Niles  of  the 


IRRIGATION 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL 


81 


country  contain  is  limited,  there  is  no  possibility  of  increasing  the  ex- 
tent of  cultivable  land,  except,  perhaps,  by  the  very  costly  process  of 
artesian-wells.  Hence,  as  you  pass  through  this  central  valley,  gen- 
erally so  rich  and  luxuriant  in  vegetation,  you  reach  from  time  to  time 
vast  expanses  of  sandy  waste.  From  Bulnes,  for  example,  to  San  Ro- 
sendo,  for  a distance  of  some  forty  miles  on  both  sides  of  the  line, 
there  is  nothing  but  acres  and  acres  of  arid  virgin  land,  dotted  with 
brush,  between  which  the  sandy  particles  drift  and  shift  at  the  mercy 
of  the  breeze.  There  are  no  dews  here,  no  rain  except  during  the 
winter  months,  and  no  means  of  catching  whatever  moisture  there 
may  be  in  the  atmosphere.  Again,  where  irrigation  is  possible,  the 
land  varies  in  quality  in  the  different  sections  of  the  valley.  In  the 
Palmilla  Valley,  in  the  province  of  Colchagua,  there  is  a depth  of 
some  twenty  feet  of  the  finest  black  soil,  while  a little  farther  south, 
in  the  province  of  Linares,  there  is  not  more  than  two  feet  of  soil, 
and  in  the  region  of  Traiguen  there  is  often  scarcely  a foot.  The 
rivers  from  which  the  irrigating  canals  are  derived  also  vary  in  quali- 
ty. Some  of  them,  especially  the  Maipo,  the  richest  in  organic  mat- 
ter, roll  a torrent  of  thick,  brown,  muddy  water,  which  covers  the  land 
with  several  centimetres  of  fertilizing  matter  in  the  course  of  each 
season’s  irrigation  ; while  other  rivers,  like  the  Bio-Bio,  have  almost 
crystalline  water,  and  carry  in  solution  scarcely  anything  but  volcanic 
sand.  The  finest  land  in  Chili  is  situated  between  the  Aconcagua 

— » O 

and  the  Maule  rivers. 

In  all  these  parts  the  irrigation  system  is  excellent,  the  water 
abundant  and  rich  in  alluvium,  and  the  vegetation  most  luxuriant 
and  varied,  comprising  cereals,  alfalfa,  vines,  fruit,  garden  produce, 
and  timber,  especially  poplar.  The  line  passes  through  the  centre 
of  the  valleys,  touching  the  principal  towns,  and  the  scenery  is  always 
interesting  and  often  enchanting.  On  one  side  you  see  the  grand 
summits  of  the  Andes,  on  the  other  the  lower  peaks  of  the  coast 
range,  and  between  the  two  chains  a level  or  undulating  valley  dotted 
with  farms  and  blocked  out  into  squares  by  lines  of  waving  poplar- 
trees.  Where  the  estates  run  up  the  hill-sides  the  slopes  will  be  cov- 
ered with  grain  crops  wherever  the  plough  can  pass;  vines  also  are 
planted  on  favorable  exposures.  The  dividing  lines  between  the  ha- 
ciendas are  generally  marked,  not  by  posts  and  wires,  but  by  a ditch 
some  six  feet  wide  and  deep,  which  you  see  running  straight  up  a 
mountain-side  and  across  the  plain.  Here  you  see  the  various  opera- 

6 


82 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


tions  of  agriculture  being  performed,  often  with  primitive  methods. 
Though  machines  are  largely  used,  threshing  with  horses  is  still  com- 
mon, and  teams  of  ten,  twenty,  and  thirty  animals  are  driven  round 
and  round  to  tread  out  the  grain.  This  system  is  employed  not  on 
account  of  perverse  resistance  to  progress,  but  because  horses  are 
abundant,  and  because  the  finely  broken  straw  produced  by  this 
method  of  threshing  has  a considerable  value  in  the  market  for  fod- 
der, and  for  mixing  with  mud  to  make  adobe  bricks.  At  the  harvest 
season  you  see  long  theories  of  ox  carts,  the  sides  latticed  with  green 
branches,  carrying  this  finely  broken  straw  to  the  towns.  The  end  of 
the  threshing  season  is  the  signal  for  grand  rural  fetes,  when  floods  of 
chic  ha  provoke  interminable  cuecas.  Another  pretext  for  intemper- 
ance and  jollification  is  the  rodeo , or  round  up,  when  the  cattle  in  the 
plain  and  mountain  pastures  are  driven  into  corrals  and  branded. 
Then  the  vaquero , or  cow-boy,  with  his  sheepskin  leggings,  his  big 
spurs,  and  his  inseparable  cigarette,  ties  up  his  head  in  a silk  hand- 
kerchief, pulls  his  hat  over  his  eyes,  and  performs  wonderful  feats 
of  horsemanship  in  rugged  and  pathless  places.  Another  operation 
which  interests  the  traveller  is  that  of  irrigation.  Each  farmer  or 
haccndado  is  a subscriber  to  or  a shareholder  in  an  irrigation  canal, 
constructed  generally  at  very  considerable  expense,  and  regulated  by 
carefully  elaborated  laws.  A canal  is  divided  into  so  many  rcgadores, 
a regador  being  an  outlet  through  which  nominally  thirty-five  litres 
of  water  can  pass  per  second,  this  quantity  being  supposed  to  be 
enough  to  keep  one  man  employed.  Each  farmer  subscribes  to  a 
number  of  regadores,  which  he  can  have  united  or  distributed  to  suit 
his  convenience,  the  changing  and  fixing  of  the  sluices  being  at  the 
cost  of  the  company.  The  fields  are  traversed  by  parallel  and  inter- 
secting smaller  channels  connected  with  the  main  canal,  and  the  wa- 
ter  is  directed  from  point  to  point  as  need  may  be.  Our  view  repre- 
sents the  irrigation  of  an  alfalfa  field.  The  water  flowing  down  a 
small  channel  across  the  field  is  stopped  by  a movable  dam  of  coarse 
canvas  on  a rough  wooden  frame,  and  diverted  to  a square  of  land  on 
one  side,  where  a workman  with  a spade  removes  small  inequalities 
of  surface,  and  sees  that  every  inch  of  ground  receives  water.  After 
this  patch  has  been  thoroughly  watered  the  dam  will  be  placed  far- 
ther on,  and  another  patch  irrigated  with  the  same  care.  \\  ith  their 
system  of  irrigation  and  alluvium  fertilizing,  the  Chilians  do  not  need 
the  artificial  manures,  such  as  guano  and  nitrate,  which  their  country 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILI. 


»3 


produces  and  exports ; on  the  other  hand, 
irrigation  costs  money.  A regador  from 
the  Maipo  Canal,  in  the  province  of  San- 
tiago, for  instance,  is  worth  $5000  Chilian 
paper.  On  the  Macul  estate  there  are  thir- 
ty-one regadores , which  cost,  on  an  average, 

$1500  Chilian  paper  per  annum. 

As  the  train  hurries  along  there  is  al- 
ways something  of  interest  to  observe ; in 
the  distance,  the  crater  of  some  extinct  vol- 
cano, with  the  snow  glistening  on  its  flanks  ; 
in  the  foreground,  a flight  of  pure  white 
birds  of  the  stork  family  settling  to  fish 
among  the  pebbles  of  the  broad  river-bed ; 
in  the  fields,  the  picturesque  ox  carts  with 
solid  wheels,  and  not  a single  nail  in  the 
\yhole  structure ; the  peasants,  with  their 
huge  hats,  bright-colored  ponchos , and  rough 
sandals  of  rawhide  laced  with  thongs.  The 
railway  stations  are  particularly  rich  in  lo- 
cal color.  As  we  have  already  seen,  the  arrival  of  a train  is  an  event 

for  the  provincial  people,  and  the  platform 
of  the  station  one  of  the  principal  prom- 
enades of  the  country  towns.  The  young 
ladies  ride  down  on  horseback,  accompanied 
by  their  little  brothers,  the  latter  wearing 
ponchos , big  straw  hats  with  conical  crowns, 
and  enormous  clanking  spurs  which  render 
walking  difficult ; and,  amid  the  crowd  of 
pcones , or  peasants,  and  miscellaneous  pas- 
sengers, they  walk  up  and  down  laughing 
and  chatting  and  inspecting  things  in  gen- 
eral. The  farther  south  you  go  the  more 
predominant  does  the  peasant  element  be- 
come and  the  greater  the  noise  of  clanking 
spurs,  for  the  peasant  is  a horseman  above 
all  things.  As  soon  as  the  train  stops  the 
steps  of  the  cars  are  besieged  with  men, 
women,  girls,  and  boys  selling  flowers,  fruit, 


84 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  all  kinds  of  refreshments.  They  even  light  fires  along  the 
track  and  improvise  kitchens,  where  they  make  cazuela , generally 
served  with  thumb  sauce.  “ Cazuela , senor?"  the  women  cry,  as  they 
walk  up  and  down  carrying  a basin  of  this  excellent  soup,  their 
thumbs  carelessly  plunging  into  the  liquid.  “ Chica , senor?"  cries  an- 
other, offering  a big  glass  of  the  national  drink.  “ Duraznos  sehorita  ; 
qjiien  qidere  duraznos?"  asks  another,  with  a basket  of  fine  peaches. 
Roast  fowl  and  onions,  cakes,  spurs,  bridles,  hard-boiled  eggs,  pies 
made  of  onions,  garlic,  and  cabbage,  live  ducks,  newspapers,  puppies, 
watermelons — almost  everything  is  offered  for  sale  at  these  provincial 
railway  stations,  and  the  women,  all  more  or  less  of  Indian  extraction, 
form  picturesque  groups  as  they  squat  between  the  rails  or  walk  to 
and  fro  along  the  trains.  In  Chili  the  lower  classes  are  brown- 
skinned cross-breeds  of  pronounced  Indian  appearance,  and,  like  the 
unsophisticated  wild  man,  they  dislike  chairs  and  prefer  to  squat  on 
their  heels.  They  are,  as  a rule,  very  ugly,  their  faces  dull  and  ex- 
pressionless, the  hair  black  and  wiry,  the  beard  sparse.  The  women 
wear  their  hair  in  two  long  braids  hanging  down  their  backs,  and 
when  they  get  old  they  smoke  cigarettes,  wither  up  like  parchment, 
and  look  very  dirty  and  miserable. 

Still  farther  south  men  and  things  begin  to  look  more  primitive 
as  we  enter  the  territory  only  recently  conquered  from  the  Arauca- 
nian  Indians.  As  far  as  Concepcion  the  towns  that  we  have  passed 
are  rapidly  progressive.  Such  are  Rancagua,  Rengo,  San  Fernando, 
Talca,  Chilian,  at  some  distance  from  which,  away  up  in  the  mount- 
ains, are  the  famous  hot  sulphur  springs  and  natural  vapor  baths,  in 
the  flanks  of  the  Chilian  volcano,  much  frequented  in  the  summer 
months,  and  destined  to  great  vogue  when  once  the  railway  renders 
them  easily  accessible.  Even  as  it  is,  the  very  elementary  hotel  of 
the  Banos  de  Chilian  is  crowded  from  December  to  April ; but  fine 
as  the  scenery  is,  and  wonderful  the  physical  phenomena  to  be  seen, 
I would  not  recommend  tourists  to  go  there  merely  on  a pleasure 
trip.  For  such  a purpose  the  baths  of  Cauquenes,  in  the  coast  Cor- 
dillera, are  preferable,  and  more  easily  accessible.  But  to  continue 
our  agricultural  peregrinations,  instead  of  going  on  to  Concepcion,  we 
change  trains  at  San  Rosendo,  and  follow  the  line  which  runs  to 
Los  Angeles,  Angol,  and  Traiguen,  which  is  for  the  present  the  south- 
ern terminus  of  the  Chilian  railways,  although  now  a line  is  being 
built  through  the  provinces  of  Malleco,  Cautin,  and  Valdivia,  down  to 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILI. 


85 


Osorno,  where  the  great  timber  region  is  situated.  The  train  is  not 
quite  so  luxurious  as  the  southern  express  which  we  have  just  left.  In 
this  region  there  are  no  saloon-cars,  and  the  third-class  cars,  in  view  of 
rough  usage,  are  provided  with  sheet-iron  windows.  Unfortunately 
these  cars  are  placed  at  the  head  of  the  train,  and  the  first-class  car 
behind  them,  so  that  the  passengers  in  the  latter  receive  from  the 
former  a perpetual  blast  of  the  most  pungent  odors,  in  which  garlic 
and  onions  predominate.  Onion  pies  and  watermelons  seem  to  be 
staple  articles  of  food  here,  and  the  whole  railway  station  as  well  as 
the  train  smells  of  them. 

From  San  Rosendo  to  Santa  Fe  the  country  is  dry  and  uninter- 
esting. Then  comes  fine  river  and  hill  scenery  as  we  approach  the 
great  wheat-growing  region  around  the  historic  town  of  Angol,  one 
of  the  seven  Araucanian  cities  which  the  conquistador  Pedro  de  Val- 
divia founded  in  the  sixteenth  century,  when  he  explored  and  subdued 
the  whole  of  Chili  as  far  as  the  city  of  Valdivia,  which  perpetuates 
his  name.  But  the  indomitable  Indians  revolted,  captured  the  seven 
cities  simultaneously  on  Christmas  Eve,  1553,  killed  Valdivia  near 
Arauco,  and  remained  masters  of  the  country  until  within  a few 
years  ago.  The  country  about  these  parts  is  still  spoken  of  as  the 
“ frontier,”  and  civil  administration  has  taken  the  place  of  military 
authority  within  the  past  three  years  only.  Civilization  is  therefore 
only  just  making  its  manifestations  obvious.  The  present  city  of 
Angol  is  beginning  to  progress;  it  has  6000  inhabitants,  and  is  a con- 
siderable grain  centre,  but  otherwise  it  calls  for  no  special  notice.  In 
the  environs  of  Angol  the  Araucanian  Indians  still  abound,  and  people 
the  landscape  in  the  most  picturesque  manner.  These  haughty  and 
warlike  tribes,  which  formerly  occupied  all  the  territory  west  of  the 
Andes,  from  Chiloe  up  to  Copiapo  are  now  entirely  subdued,  and  only 
about  50,000  of  them  remain  in  a state  of  semi-independence  and  with 
their  primitive  habits,  though  recognizing  the  Chilian  republic,  under 
whose  protectorate  they  exist.  These  Indians  live  in  some  of  the 
inner  valleys  of  the  Andes,  and  scattered  through  the  country  south 
of  the  river  Bio-Bio,  especially  in  the  provinces  of  Malleco,  Imperial, 
and  Cautin,  where  they  have  their  cane  or  brush  huts,  weave  tissues, 
work  on  the  farms,  and  get  drunk  as  soon  as  they  have  earned  a few 
cents.  Like  the  redskin,  the  pure  Araucanian  is  destined  to  disappear 
from  the  face  of  the  earth;  but,  unlike  the  redskin,  he  will  leave  be- 
hind him  a hardy  though  hybrid  race,  which  will  owe  to  him  its  best 


86 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


qualities.  I mean  the  Chilian  peones , or  laboring  classes,  which  have 
a very  large  admixture  of  Indian  blood,  so  large,  indeed,  that  a good- 
looking  Chilian  peasant  woman  can  often  scarcely  be  distinguished 
from  an  Indian  woman  except  by  her  costume.  The  Araucanian 
Indians  that  I saw  were  fine-looking  and  well  built,  dignified  and 
carefully  dressed,  and  apparently  industrious.  Some  of  the  silver  or- 
naments that  they  wear  are  very  artistic.  Their  manners,  too,  are 
independent  and  indicative  of  self-respect.  Still,  they  are  a conquered 
race;  they  have  no  longer  any  raison  d'etre;  the  interest  that  they 
excite  is  enthnological  rather  than  sentimental ; and,  if  the  truth  must 
be  told,  they  drink  like  the  sand  of  the  desert,  and  their  white  brothers, 
many  of  them  blond  Germans,  distil  for  their  especial  benefit  unrecti- 
fied alcohols  of  most  searchingly  corrosive  power,  the  result  of  which 
may  be  seen  in  the  towns  on  Sunday  afternoons  and  evenings,  when 
they  roll  in  the  gutters  by  the  dozen,  roar  like  bulls,  and  end  by  be- 
ing lodged  in  the  police-station. 

From  Angol  to  Traiguen  we  pass  through  the  wheat  district,  com- 
posed of  low  undulating  hills  and  small  plains,  all  yellow  with  stubble 
at  the  time  of  my  visit.  Traiguen  is  a fair  specimen  of  a squatters’ 
town.  According  to  the  usual  Spanish  custom,  it  is  laid  out  in 
cuadras,  with  rectangular  streets,  absolutely  unpaved  except  the  side- 
walks, where  the  earth  is  held  up  by  lengths  of  timber  beams  along 
the  gutter.  The  houses  are  cane  huts,  adobe  cabins,  or  wooden 
sheds,  with  fluted  tile  roofs.  The  hotels,  of  which  there  are  two,  each 
with  a bar-room  and  billiard  tables,  are  likewise  wooden  sheds,  built 
around  an  enclosed  patch  of  dust  and  detritus.  The  barracks  are 
wooden  sheds  also.  Nevertheless,  Traiguen  is  a growing  town;  it 
has  scarcely  four  thousand  inhabitants,  but  it  boasts  four  local  news- 
papers, a number  of  general  stores,  depots  of  agricultural  machinery, 
flour-mills,  vast  wheat  warehouses,  and  innumerable  cheap  restaurants 
and  grog-shops  for  the  country  people  and  the  Indians.  Traiguen  is 
the  centre  of  the  wheat  and  timber  trade  of  Chili,  and  also  of  the  gov- 
ernment colonization  system.  All  the  wheat,  timber,  and  other  mer- 
chandise from  the  departments  of  Imperial  and  Temuco  is  brought  to 
Traiguen  in  bullock  carts  to  the  railway,  which  carries  it  to  the  inte- 
rior, or  to  the  port  of  Talcahuano.  On  the  hills  and  high  table-lands 
around  Traiguen  you  see  for  miles  and  miles  nothing  but  wheat,  and 
for  miles  and  miles  the  eye  can  follow  the  red  dusty  roads  that  wind 
like  ribbons  over  the  slopes  leading  to  the  various  colonies  and  to  the 


LANDSCAPE  NEAR  ANGOL. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL 


89 


towns  of  Victoria  and  Temuco.  From  time  to  time  a herd  of  kine 
passes,  driven  along  by  half  a dozen  men  and  boys  on  horseback, 
armed  with  long  lassos  and  a rich  vituperative  vocabulary.  Then  you 
will  meet  a train  of  fifty  or  a hundred  ox  carts  laden  with  bags  of 
wheat.  Then  a queer  ram-shackle  carriage  will  emerge  from  a cloud 
of  dust  and  reveal  five  wretched  horses  harnessed  abreast,  the  two 
outside  ones  simply  attached  by  a rope,  and  awaiting  their  turn  to  do 
serious  pulling  between  the  shafts,  mere  galloping  at  the  side  being 
considered  rest  and  not  work. 

In  an  official  publication,  entitled  Sinopsis  Estadistica  y geografica 
de  Chile  ( Santiago , Imprenta  Nacional , 18 go),  I read  the  following, 
under  the  heading “ Colonization:”  “European  immigration  has  begun 
to  increase  greatly  since  last  year.  The  peacefulness  of  our  country, 
and  the  complete  liberty  of  action  and  of  thought  which  natives  and 
foreigners  enjoy  without  distinction,  tend  to  accelerate  this  movement 
day  by  day.  Powerful  agents,  too,  are  the  proverbial  richness  of  our 
soil  and  the  mildness  of  the  climate,  which  permits  immigrants  to  set- 
tle where  they  please  without  being  obliged  to  adopt  a new  way  of 
living.  The  Government,  on  the  other  hand,  with  a view  to  attend- 
ing to  the  reception  of  immigrants,  and  to  furnishing  them  with  the 
means  of  establishing  themselves  as  quickly  and  conveniently  as  pos- 
sible, decreed  last  February  [i.e.,  1889]  the  establishment  in  this  cap- 
ital of  an  OJicina  de  immigracion  libre , with  agencies  in  Valparaiso, 
Talca,  and  Concepcion.  The  immigrants  who  arrived  in  1889  num- 
bered 9659  men,  women,  and  children.  Lately  our  colonization  agent 
in  Europe  contracted  with  Messrs.  Luis  Llanos  & Co.  to  send  out 
25,000  immigrants  within  a year’s  time.” 

This  question  of  colonization  is  of  the  utmost  gravity.  In  Decem- 
ber, 1889,  the  official  statistics  showed  the  total  population  of  Chili  to 
be  some  three  millions.  When  all  its  productive  territory  is  inhabited, 
it  has  been  calculated  Chili  will  sustain  a population  of  from  sixteen 
to  twenty  million  people.  Whether  this  estimate  be  exact  or  not,  it 
is  clear  that  there  is  room  for  immigration,  and  that  the  immense 
resources  of  the  country  are  still  only  partially  developed.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  would  be  a great  mistake  to  think  that  gold  grows  on 
the  trees  in  Chili,  and  that  people  have  only  to  go  there  in  order  to 
pick  as  much  as  they  want.  The  development  of  a country  is  sub- 
ject to  certain  economic  laws.  Chili  doubtless  needs  immigrants,  but 
the  plain  truth  is  that  she  has  no  inducements  to  offer  them.  I will 


9o 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


even  go  further  and  say  that  the  actual  system  of  assisted  immigra- 
tion patronized  by  the  Chilian  Government  is  a delusion  and  a snare. 

The  documents  circulated  in  Europe  by  Chilian  emigration  agents 
are  full  of  misrepresentations  of  the  most  culpable  kind.  One  of 
these  pamphlets,  for  instance,  which  I now  have  before  me,  states  the 
Chilian  dollar  to  be  equivalent  to  four  shillings,  whereas  it  is  only 
equal  to  two  shillings.  It  speaks  of  gold  and  silver  coins  as  the  cur- 
rent money,  whereas  such  coins  are  not  to  be  had,  the  only  current 
money  being  nickel  and  notes.  The  farm  laborer’s  wages  are  stated 
to  be  £7  to  ^10  sterling  a month,  whereas  the  average  throughout 
the  country  cannot  be  put  safely  at  more  than  50  or  60  Chilian  cents 
a day,  or,  in  other  words,  30  to  32  shillings  a month,  with  the  food  and 
lodging  described  on  a previous  page.  Engine-drivers  are  stated  to 
earn  10  to  16  shillings  a day.  The  payment  of  drivers  on  the  state 
railways  is  as  follows:  express  trains,  $6;  first-class  passenger  drivers, 
$5  50;  first-class  freight,  $5  25;  second-class  freight,  $4  80;  third-class 
freight,  $4  20,  in  Chilian  paper.  The  pamphlet  again  exaggerates  and 
fails  to  state  that  the  labor  market  is  overstocked  with  drivers,  me- 
chanics, and  artisans  of  all  kinds,  who,  after  having  been  lured  out  by 
the  fallacious  statements  of  interested  emigration  agents,  have  been 
glad  to  get  work  as  waiters,  porters,  or  anything  in  order  not  to 
starve.  The  same  pamphlet  affirms  that  the  wages  of  navvies  are 
from  £6  to  ^8  sterling  a month.  The  wages  actually  paid  to  navvies 
by  the  state  railways  are  $1  to  $1  20  a day  in  Santiago,  and  80  cents, 
Chilian  currency,  a day  in  the  country,  together  with  the  usual  rations 
of  bread  and  beans.  We  need  not  enter  further  into  details.  In  the 
way  of  wages  Chili  has  nothing  to  offer,  and  as  regards  farm  laborers 
and  navvies,  she  has  her  own  pcones , who,  like  their  namesakes,  the 
pawns  at  chess,  do  a great  deal  of  work  and  get  neither  credit  nor 
reward.  No  European  laborers  can  compete  with  the  native  half- 
Indian  Chilian  peones,  who  live  on  bread,  beans,  and  water,  and  sleep 
on  the  bare  ground,  deriving  no  other  comfort  or  privilege  than  that 
of  getting  drunk  on  Sunday,  keeping  up  the  dream  on  Monday,  recov- 
ering their  senses  on  Tuesday,  and  resuming  work  on  Wednesday. 
Such  is  the  ordinary  routine.  As  for  artisans  and  skilled  workmen, 
let  them  beware  of  going  out  to  Chili,  unless  they  have  a written  con- 
tract before  they  start ; and  let  both  skilled  and  unskilled  reflect  that 
Chili  is  a Spanish  country,  and  that  the  first  thing  they  have  to  do  on 
arriving  is  to  learn  a new  language,  otherwise  success  is  impossible. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL 


91 


As  for  actual  colonization,  the  prospects,  as  far  as  my  inquiries 
showed,  are  poor,  and  unless  the  immigrant  has  at  least  a thousand 
dollars  capital,  he  would  do  better  not  to  risk  the  attempt.  Even  if 
he  has  a little  capital  he  will  meet  with  many  disappointments.  In 
the  first  place,  the  land  to  be  distributed  on  certain  conditions  among 
colonists  is  in  Araucania,  especially  in  the  country  around  Angol  and 
Traiguen,  where  there  is  a very  thin  coat  of  black  soil  on  a bed  of 
clay.  This  soil,  after  four  successive  crops,  would  be  absolutely  ex- 


ARAUCANIAN  INDIAN  HUT,  AND  LOOM  FOR  WEAVING  GUANACO  AND  OTHER 

WOOLLEN  STUFFS. 

hausted,  and  need  artificial  fertilization,  and  the  only  economical  way 
of  cultivating  it  is  to  grow  a crop  one  year  and  let  the  land  lie  fal- 
low the  next.  Furthermore,  the  soil  is  so  light  that  wherever  there 
is  a slope  or  a plain  exposed  to  the  wind,  it  is  necessary  to  leave  the 
scrub  and  bushes  to  hold  the  land  together  and  prevent  it  blowing 
away ; hence  it  is  impossible  to  use  machinery,  whether  for  cultivat- 
ing or  harvesting,  and  hence  the  persistency  of  primitive  agricultural 


92 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


methods,  which  astonish  the  visitor  until  he  discovers  the  real  reason. 
Supposing  that  the  immigrant  is  content  to  struggle  against  all  these 
disadvantages,  he  will  still  find  other  disagreeable  surprises.  As  we 
have  said  above,  the  territory  of  Araucania,  having  been  only  recently 
delivered  over  to  civil  authority,  is  still  inadequately  policed.  There 
are  many  bands  of  brigands,  and  murders,  outrages,  and  robberies  are 
frequent,  while  justice  is  rare  and  hardly  obtained.  The  colonists  in 
these  parts  have  certainly  double  cause  to  complain,  for  they  have 
been  brought  out  on  false  pretences  by  the  Chilian  Government,  and 
the  Chilian  Government  fails  even  to  assure  them  unmolested  enjoy- 
ment of  the  poor  lot  which  they  have  been  obliged  to  accept.  From 
conversation  with  several  of  the  most  intelligent  colonists,  I learned 
that  one  mistake  made  by  the  Government  officials  is  to  treat  the  col- 
onists as  if  they  were  ordinary  peones.  In  no  country  except  Eng- 
land is  the  distinction  of  classes  more  marked  than  in  Chili.  There 
are  the  white  men  and  the  common  herd,  the  creoles  and  th o,  peones, 
the  former  lords  and  undisputed  masters,  the  latter  resigned  and  un- 
resisting slaves.  In  Chili  it  is  not  the  custom  even  to  say  “thank 
you  ” to  a servant  or  a peon  for  any  service  he  may  render  you ; he  is 
considered  to  be  an  inferior  being  altogether.  The  Chilenos,  said  my 
immigrant  interlocutors,  are  accustomed  to  be  tyrannized  by  their  su- 
periors in  rank ; the  peones  and  the  common  people  in  general  have 
had  their  amour  propre  destroyed  by  years  of  oppression  on  the  part 
of  the  police  and  of  the  administration : they  bow  their  heads  before 
the  storm,  accept  any  treatment,  and  eat  their  beans  with  stolid  resig- 
nation. The  colonists,  whether  French,  Swiss,  German,  or  English, 
have  different  temperaments ; they  have  ideas  of  justice  and  reason, 
and  when  they  protest  against  obvious  tyranny  or  absurdity  of  admin- 
istrative decisions,  their  attitude  is  qualified  by  the  Government  offi- 
cials as  “insolent”  and  “insubordinate.”  In  short,  the  poor  colo- 
nists get  robbed  and  maltreated  both  by  professional  brigands  and 
brigandish  officials,  and  when  they  present  their  grievances  they 
find  neither  sympathy  nor  impartiality  on  the  part  of  the  admin- 
istration. What  do  the  Government  employes  care  about  these  ob- 
streperous gringos , as  the  Hispano- American  contemptuously  calls 
all  European  immigrants,  both  of  high  and  low  degree?  And  so  the 
poor  colonists  go  on  living  in  their  wooden  houses  with  corrugated 
iron  roofs  in  the  distant  solitudes  of  Araucania,  very  few  of  them 
having  bettered  their  fortunes  by  leaving  the  old  country,  to  say 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILI 


93 


nothing  of  the  undeniable  disadvantage  of  insecurity  both  of  life  and 


property. 

In  reality,  the  Chilians,  I imagine,  do  not  like  foreigners  ; they  are 
jealous  of  those  who  have  settled  in  the  country  and  established  profit- 
able industries; 
but  still  they  so- 
licit immigration 
because  they  feel 
that  they  must 
compete  with  oth- 
er nations,  and 
especially  with 
their  mightily 
progressive  Ar- 
gentine neigh- 
bors. There  is 
now  an  idea  afloat 
for  extending  the 
colonization  sys- 
tem and  popu- 
lating the  cold 
southern  extrem- 
ity from  Valdivia 
downward  with 
Scandinavian  im- 
migrants, who 
will  develop  the 
timber  and  the 
fishing  resources 
of  the  country. 

If  this  project  be 
carried  out  the 
Governments  of 
Sweden  and  Nor- 
way will  do  well  ox  CART,  TRAIGUEN. 

to  take  measures 


for  the  proper  protection  of  their  subjects.  In  any  case,  as  things 
now  stand,  emigration  to  Chili  is  not  a safe  speculation.  The  col- 
onization system  is  badly  organized,  the  temporary  accommodation 


94 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


for  immigrants  on  their  arrival  is  worse  than  inadequate,  and  the 
land  offered  is  poor  and  unremunerative ; while,  as  regards  immi- 
grants without  capital,  Chili  requires  only  agricultural  laborers,  to 
whom  she  offers  the  same  unenviable  conditions  as  the  native  peones 
accept. 

The  seaport  of  the  new  agricultural  districts  which  we  have  just 
been  visiting,  and  which  have  only  been  opened  to  culture  within  the 
past  four  years,  is  Talcahuano,  and  the  commercial  centre  is  Concep- 
cion, which  promises  to  become  the  great  town  of  Southern  Chili. 
Leaving  Traiguen,  we  return  to  San  Rosendo,  gain  the  main  line,  and 
so  reach  Concepcion,  and  twenty  minutes  later  Talcahuano.  Concep- 
cion is  a town  of  25,000  inhabitants,  full  of  enterprise  and  local  pride. 
It  has  a handsome  and  commodious  railway  station ; the  three  main 
longitudinal  streets  are  well  paved  — a detail  of  high  importance  in 
these  South  American  cities — the  shops  are  numerous  and  well  sup- 
plied ; several  of  the  business  blocks  are  relatively  fine  and  solid 
buildings ; and  the  plaza  is  one  of  the  prettiest  in  Chili,  being  deco- 
rated with  marble  statues,  a bronze  central  column,  tastefully  arranged 
flower  beds,  and  fine  shade  trees.  On  one  side  of  the  plaza  is  the 
cathedral  — without  a tower,  for  we  are  in  a land  of  earthquakes; 
on  the  opposite  side  are  the  Palacio  de  Justicia  and  the  Intendencia; 
while  on  the  remaining  sides  are  banks,  arcades,  and  shops.  It  may 
interest  capitalists  to  know  that  the  local  Banco  de  Concepcion  paid 
last  year  a dividend  of  sixteen  per  cent.  On  the  plaza  is  an  elegant 
platform,  decorated  with  bronze  busts  and  gilt  inscriptions  recording 
the  names  of  Rossini,  Auber,  Halevy,  Donizetti,  Meyerbeer,  etc.,  where 
a band  plays  on  certain  evenings  in  the  week,  when  all  Concepcion 
turns  out  in  chimney-pot  hats  and  Parisian  bonnets,  and  walks  round 
and  round  with  much  cap  courtesy  and  obsequious  bowing.  A detail 
of  no  importance  is  that  throughout  my  stay  in  Chili  I did  not  see  a 
“ dude  ” wearing  a single  eye-glass.  The  young  “ swells  ” wear  var- 
nished boots,  immaculate  clothes,  and  gorgeous  cravats ; they  also 
curl  their  mustaches,  and  put  brilliantine  on  their  hair,  but  they  have 
not  yet  attained  the  impertinent  sublimity  of  the  monocle. 

Concepcion,  like  most  Chilian  towns,  is  overrun  with  electricity ; it 
has  hundreds  of  telephones,  both  urban  and  provincial,  and  an  electric- 
light  company  which  supplies  one  of  the  hotels  and  a number  of 
shops.  The  tram-way  system  is  considerable,  and  the  conductors,  as 
has  been  the  custom  throughout  Chili  since  the  Peruvian  war  took  all 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL 


95 


the  men  away  from  the  towns,  are  young  ladies  with  jaunty  straw  hats 
and  neat  white  aprons.  The  local  press  is  represented  by  two  jour- 
nals, La  Libertad  Catolica  and  El  Sur,  the  latter  having  a fair  circu- 
lation in  the  country.  The  public  buildings,  besides  those  already 
noticed,  are  a large  new  theatre,  a practical  Escuela  de  Agricultura, 


Post-office  in 
There  is  also  a 
house,  worthy  of  notice  and 
In  the  day-time  Concepcion 
pect  of  an  ordinary  South 
with  straight  streets  lined 
graph  poles  carrying  a 
Much  business  is  done  there  in  corn,  wool, 


PORT  AND  TOWN  OF 
TALCAHUANO. 


and  a large 
construction, 
handsome  club- 
well  appointed, 
presents  the  as- 
American  town, 
with  white  tele- 
multiplicity of  wires 
and  general  imports,  which  latter  business  seems  to  be  largely  con- 
trolled by  Germans.  It  is  also  the  banking  centre  of  an  extensive 
agricultural  district.  German  enterprise  is  still  more  evident  at 
night,  when  the  shops  issue  from  their  somnolent,  half -closed  day- 
light state,  and  display  in  a glare  of  gas  and  electricity  specimens 
of  European  manufactures,  with  their  accompanying  chromo- litho- 
graphic advertising  cards.  Then  you  see  in  the  general  stores  the 
strangest  medley  of  toilet  soap,  patent  medicines,  agricultural  ma- 
chinery, canned  meat,  cheap  bronzes,  gaudy  gas  fittings,  chromo  por- 
traits of  Bismarck,  the  Czar,  and  the  Pope,  side  by  side  with  ideal 


96 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


German  heads  of  sugar-plum  women — in  fact,  all  the  trumpery  and 
tawdry  bibelots  and  counterfeits  in  which  contemporary  Teutonic  in- 
dustry excels. 

In  all  the  old  Spanish  colonies  the  capitals  are  situated  inland, 
while  the  ports  are  comparatively  small  and  unpleasant  places.  Ex- 
amples are  Lima  and  Callao,  Santiago  and  Valparaiso,  Concepcion, 
and  Talcahuano.  The  reason  of  this  separation  of  the  seaport  and 
the  business  capital  is  to  be  found  in  the  fear  of  pirates  and  priva- 
teers, who  in  the  old  days  might  land,  sack  and  burn  the  port,  and 
escape  with  their  booty  with  ease ; whereas  to  march  inland  and 
attack  a town  in  the  interior  of  the  country  was  a more  serious  and 
dangerous  business.  Thus  Concepcion  is  distant  from  the  sea  twenty 
minutes  by  rail,  and  is  a fine  and  growing  town ; while  Talcahuano, 
the  port,  is  a picturesque,  old-fashioned  colonial  place  with  one-story 
board  houses,  a few  grain  bodegas , quays,  and  a mole,  and,  overlooking 
the  bay,  a hospitable  and  pleasant  club,  whose  members  require 
champagne  cocktails  on  the  slightest  provocation.  The  situation  of 
the  little  town  at  the  head  of  Concepcion  Bay  is  very  charming,  and 
the  bay  itself  is  the  finest  harbor  on  the  Pacific  Coast,  with  the  excep- 
tion only  of  San  Francisco.  At  Talcahuano  a breakwater,  quays,  and 
a dock  are  now  being  constructed  by  a French  company  at  a cost  of 
13,000,000  francs.  The  dock  will  measure  175  metres  long,  37  metres 
broad,  and  25  metres  deep.  The  works  were  begun  a year  ago,  and 
will  require  about  three  years  more  for  their  completion.  Talcahuano 
will  be  the  terminus  and  port  of  the  transandine  railway  from  Buenos 
Ayres  via  the  Antuco  Pass  and  Yumbel,  and  is  likely  to  become  a 
more  important  as  it  is  already  a safer  and  better  port  than  Valparaiso. 

The  exports  from  the  bay  of  Concepcion,  with  its  three  ports  of 
Talcahuano,  Tome,  and  Penco,  will  give  an  idea  of  its  interest.  The 
chief  item  is  wheat,  of  which  1,500.000  hectolitres  were  shipped  in 
1889,  mostly  to  Europe,  and  the  rest  to  Peru.  Wool  is  sent  from 
here,  the  coarse  kind  to  the  United  States,  the  fine  bales  to  Germany. 
Other  articles  exported  are  barley,  oats,  linseed,  honey,  beeswax,  and 
maqui , which  is  a sort  of  bilberry,  used  in  France  to  give  color  to 
pale  wines.  From  Tome  great  quantities  of  Chilian  wines  are 
shipped  for  consumption  along  the  Pacific  Coast,  and  some  little  to 
Europe.  The  steamers  of  five  regular  European  lines  touch  at  Tal- 
cahuano, bringing  general  cargo  and  agricultural  machinery,  partly 
English  and  partly  American,  in  about  equal  proportions. 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL 


97 


We  noticed  above  the  Escuela  Practica  de  Agricultura  at  Con- 
cepcion. Similar  establishments  are  found  at  Santiago,  Talca,  San 
Fernando,  Elqui,  and  Salamanca;  but  the  most  important  are  those 
of  Santiago  and  Concepcion,  which  receive  from  the  state  annual 
subventions  of  $40,000  and  $23,000,  respectively.  Attached  to  these 
two  last-mentioned  schools  are  agronomic  stations  for  the  analysis  of 
the  soil  and  of  the  irrigation  waters  of  the  different  agricultural  re- 
gions of  the  republic.  It  is  interesting  to  note  this  prudent  attention 
to  the  cause  of  scientific  agriculture  on  the  part  of  a country  which 
still  possesses  thousands  of  acres  of  virgin  land  and  primitive  forests. 
In  the  neighboring  Argentine  Republic  much  attention  is  also  given 
to  these  matters.  Young  Argentines  go  to  study  in  the  agricultural 
schools  of  France  and  Belgium,  and  graduates  from  these  schools  are 
much  demanded,  both  as  professors  and  as  managers  of  estates  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  Andes.  Still,  in  connection  with  agriculture,  we 
must  mention  the  Sociedad  Nacional  de  Agricultura  in  Santiago, 
which  receives  an  annual  state  subvention  of  $20,000  Chilian,  for 
prizes  in  agricultural  shows,  conservation  of  the  Quinta  Normal,  cul- 
tivation of  trees,  vines,  etc.,  and  for  keeping  up  a small  zoological 
garden.  In  the  Quinta  Normal  there  is  an  Instituto  Agricola,  with 
professors  of  rural  economy,  arboriculture,  viticulture  and  vinification, 
agricultural  chemistry,  rural  legislation,  and  a veterinary  school  with 
the  necessary  professors.  The  pupils  of  the  Instituto  Agricola  ob- 
tain the  diploma  of  agricultural  engineers  and  agronomos,  or  simply 
certificates. 

The  Sociedad  de  Agricultura  publishes  a bulletin  of  useful  and 
practical  information,  keeps  a register  of  trade-marks,  and  has  recently 
opened  a stud-book  for  the  registration  of  thorough-bred  horses  and 
cattle. 

Agricultural  Chili  is  a pleasant  and  interesting  country  to  visit. 
The  scenery,  suggesting  memories  alternately  of  California,  Switzer- 
land, and  northern  Italy,  is  both  grand  and  charming.  Nothing  can 
be  seen  more  majestic  and  impressive  than  the  main  ridge  of  the 
Andes,  with  the  volcanic  peaks  white  with  snow,  while  occasionally 
towards  the  south  some  small  crater  shoots  up  volumes  of  smoke  and 
lava,  as  Villa  Rica  did  about  the  time  that  I was  at  Trainmen.  Noth- 
ing  can  be  more  charming  than  the  scenery  along  the  Rio  Bio-Bio, 
whose  sinuous  banks  the  railway  follows  between  San  Rosendo  and 
Concepcion.  In  parts  this  river,  the  longest  and  broadest  in  the  re- 
7 


93 


THE  SPAXISH-AMERICAX  REPUBLICS. 


public,  having  a course  of  222  miles,  reminds  one  of  the  Loire,  except 
that  it  flows  continuously  between  sloping  and  often  wooded  hills. 
Like  the  Loire,  it  is  full  of  shifting  sand  banks,  some  of  clean  yellow 
sand,  others  of  black  volcanic  sand;  and  these,  as  the  water  varies  in 
depth,  give  to  the  surface  a moire  of  violet  and  yellowish-green.  As 
for  the  rustic  population  and  the  incidents  of  life  along  the  road,  they 
offer  plenty  of  material  for  the  painter  and  food  for  reflection  to  the 
student  of  manners.  Here  indeed  is  primitive  civilization,  needing  no 


CONCEPCION  : THE  PLAZA  AND  WATER-CARRIERS. 

house  furniture,  no  comfort,  very  elementary  clothing,  and  only  the 
simplest  forms  of  ceramic  ware.  What  plainer  food  could  be  found 
than  bread,  beans,  and  onion  pie  ? What  more  natural  drinking  ves- 
sel than  a calabash  ? What  less  complex  vestment  than  the  poncho ? 
What  shoe  more  easily  made  than  a bit  of  cowhide  tied  on  with 
thongs?  What  more  refreshing  and  obvious  combination  of  food  and 
drink  than  the  familiar  watermelon,  which  would  seem  to  be  the  chief 
and  only  nourishment  taken  by  many  of  the  poorer  Chilians?  In  the 
stations  you  see  whole  trains  loaded  with  watermelons.  In  the  towns 
watermelons  are  sold  in  every  shop,  and  piles  of  them  are  stacked  in 
the  streets  wherever  there  is  an  open-air  breakfast  stall.  On  the 


AGRICULTURAL  CHILL 


99 


steamers  that  ply  between  the  ports  of  the  Pacific  the  decks  are  en- 
cumbered with  the  inevitable  melons,  and  the  water  in  the  harbors  is 
covered  with  the  floating  rinds  of  empty  ones.  In  no  other  country 
have  I seen  such  universal  consumption  of  watermelons  except  along 
the  banks  of  the  Danube,  where  the  peasants  are  no  better  lodged 
and  no  better  fed  than  those  of  Chili.  All  this  I say  not  in  dispraise 
of  the  Chilian  peones.  On  the  contrary,  I am  convinced  that  they  are 
fine  fellows  in  their  way  and  splendid  workers,  especially  by  the  piece. 
No  Europeans  can  surpass  them  in  strength  and  endurance.  Above 
all,  no  Europeans  could  exist  in  the  same  conditions  of  alimentation 
and  habitation.  In  Chili  the  peones  live  literally  like  pigs,  both  in  the 
country  and  in  the  towns,  regardless  of  hygiene  or  even  the  most 
ordinary  sanitary  precautions.  The  consequence  is  that  infant  mor- 
tality is  great ; the  babies  die  like  flies,  and  those  who  survive  are 
only  the  strongest  and  the  fittest.  This  rural  and  urban  working 
population  is  ignorant,  though  not  unintelligent;  the  peones  can  rarely 
read  or  write,  but  they  have  a natural  talent  for  imitation,  and  when 
once  they  have  been  shown  how  to  do  a thing  they  will  go  on  doing 
it;  thus  they  learn  in  a few  lessons  to  manage  agricultural  machinery, 
and  when  they  have  once 
learned  they  do  not  for- 
get. As  for  morality,  it 
is  to  be  feared  that  they 
have  but  little.  They  are 
not  afraid  of  death  them- 
selves, and  have  not  much 
respect  for  the  life  of  oth- 
ers, and  both  men  and 
women  alike  appear  to 
have  inherited  a fair  dose 
of  superstition  and  many 
queer  beliefs  from  their 
Indian  ancestors,  togeth- 
er with  a number  of  silly 
remedies.  The  women 
when  they  have  a headache  paste  rounds  of  paper  on  their  temples  or 
the  pip  of  a watermelon.  If  they  feel  anything  the  matter  with  their 
eyes  they  will  plaster  their  cheeks  over  with  leaves.  Indeed,  you  rare- 
ly see  a woman  who  has  not  something  stuck  on  her  face.  All  these 


lOO 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


defects,  all  these  superstitions,  and  all  this  neglect  of  the  laws  of  hy- 
giene, President  Balmaceda  hopes  to  eradicate  by  education,  and  there- 
fore we  see,  not  without  surprise,  in  rustic  townships  like  Traiguen,  fine 
school-houses  being  built,  at  a cost  of  $90,000,  before  there  is  yet  a 
single  brick  house  within  the  district.  This  policy  of  building 
schools  and  promoting  education  is  being  actively  carried  on  through- 
out Chili.  Wherever  you  go  you  see  a fine  new  school  being  built, 
and  at  no  great  distance  from  it  an  equally  fine  new  prison,  and  the 
chances  are  that  the  cells  of  the  latter  will  be  filled  sooner  than  the 
class-rooms  of  the  former.  However,  the  education  of  the  masses  has 
been  one  of  the  great  cards  of  modern  republicanism  in  Europe  and 
in  the  United  States,  and  it  is  therefore  not  astonishing  to  find  imita- 
tive Chili  following  in  the  wake,  perhaps  a little  hastily  and  a little 
blindly. 


CHAPTER  V. 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


HE  Chilian  capital,  according  to  the  fashion  prevalent  in  the 


days  when  pirates  and  buccaneers  flourished,  is  situated  in  the 
interior  of  the  country,  at  the  foot  of  the  great  Cordillera  of  the 
Andes,  and  at  a distance  of  four  hours  by  express  train  from  its  port 
of  Valparaiso.  It  is  a pleasant  and  rich  city,  very  beautifully  situ- 
ated, highly  favored  in  point  of  climate,  and  destined  to  become 
in  the  course  of  time  one  of  the  handsomest  cities  south  of  the 
equator.  At  present  it  is  in  a transition  stage ; the  pavement  of 
most  of  the  streets  is  antique  and  irregular;  palaces  and  paltry  dwell- 
ings are  next-door  neighbors ; the  inadequate  attention  paid  to  keep- 
ing up  the  promenades  and  gardens  still  savors  of  provincialism;  the 
public  buildings  are  rarely  models  of  architecture ; the  hotels  for  the 
accommodation  of  visitors  are  rather  poor  for  a national  capital ; the 
business  blocks  have  not  that  special  cachet  of  commodiousness  and 
practicality  which  our  modern  ideas  demand.  Nevertheless  Santiago 
is  unmistakably  a capital,  and  in  many  respect's  it  is  the  Paris  of 
Chili,  the  city  to  which  all  Chilian  eyes  are  turned,  and  to  which  all 
Chilian  fortunes  sooner  or  later  find  their  way.  This  fact  is  mani- 
fested by  the  number  and  splendor  of  the  private  houses,  the  great 
quantity  of  private  carriages,  and  the  animation  of  the  elegant  and 
leisured  movement  in  the  streets. 

Santiago,  with  its  steeples  and  towers  and  its  wooded  hill  of  Santa 
Lucia,  lies  towards  one  end  of  a broad  plain,  hemmed  in  by  mountains 
which  are  always  visible,  closing  the  perspective  of  the  streets,  and 
rising  in  grand  silhouettes,  even  more  beautiful  in  winter  than  in 
summer;  for  then  the  mountains  are  covered  with  a mantle  of  snow 
which  reaches  within  a few  metres  of  the  plain,  and  there  ceases  in  a 
sharp  line,  marking  the  limit  of  the  temperate  air.  The  climate  is 
delightful ; rain  falls  only  during  the  four  winter  months ; the  mean 
temperature  in  summer  is  70°  Fahr.,  and  in  winter  520  Fahr. ; day 
after  day  for  weeks  together  the  thermometer  scarcely  varies,  and  the 


102 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


CENTRAL  RAILWAY  STATION,  SANTIAGO. 


sun  shines  in  a clear  sky  with  a constancy  that  conduces  to  filling 
the  soul  with  placidity  and  contentment.  The  plan  of  the  town  is 
the  usual  rectilinear  chess-board  arrangement  of  uniform  cuadras,  or 
blocks,  with  a grand  central  square,  and  an  avenue,  or  alamcda , of 
overarching  trees.  On  one  side  of  the  plaza  are  the  cathedral  and  the 
Archbishop's  palace ; on  the  other  the  Municipalidad. , or  town-hall,  as 
we  should  call  it,  and  the  post-office  ; and  on  the  two  remaining  sides 
portales , or  arcades,  with  shops  on  the  ground-floor.  The  architect- 
ural monuments  of  the  plaza  call  for  no  special  commendation,  ex- 
cepting the  post-office,  which  is  conveniently  arranged  on  a North 
American  model,  and  served  by  obliging  ladies  and  by  male  clerks, 
the  latter  as  morose  and  obstinate  as  post-office  employes  in  Latin 
countries  generally  appear  to  be.  The  plaza  is  the  centre  of  all  the 
movement  of  Santiago,  the  terminus  and  starting-point  for  the  tram- 
ways, the  great  station  for  hackney-coaches,  the  fashionable  evening 
promenade,  when  the  band  plays  in  the  music  kiosk.  All  the  feat- 
ures of  this  movement  are  interesting  to  the  visitor.  At  any  hour 
of  the  day,  from  early  morning  until  late  at  night,  the  observer  will 
find  there  something  to  note,  something  to  reason  about  and  specu- 
late upon.  How  pleasant  this  plaza  is!  what  an  important  role  it 
plays  in  the  life  of  the  town ! and  what  a pity  it  is  that  the  builders 
of  Anglo-Saxon  towns  in  new  countries  do  not  profit  by  the  wise 
precepts  of  the  old  Spaniards,  whose  first  care  was  always  to  provide 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


103 


their  cities  with  lungs,  breathing-grounds,  and  agreeable  meeting- 
places,  that  formed,  as  it  were,  the  common  hearth  around  which  the 
citizens  gathered  both  for  pleasure  and  for  business  — the  continu- 
ation, in  fact,  of  the  old  Roman  forum ! The  plaza,  the  cathedral,  the 
town-hall,  the  Governor’s  palace,  representing  the  Church,  the  muni- 
cipality, and  the  central  authority,  invaribly  form  the  centre  of  the 
Hispano- American  towns,  and  invariably  you  will  find  some  effort  to 
make  of  this  spot  a point  of  entertaining  resort.  Even  in  the  small- 
est village  of  Spanish  South  America  there  is  always  a plaza,  planted 
with  trees  and  furnished  with  benches,  for  the  accommodation  of  the 
citizens,  the  mothers,  and  the  nurse-maids ; for  the  plaza  is  not  only 
the  promenade  of  the  grown-up  persons,  but  also  the  playground  of 


ARCHBISHOP’S  PALACE  AND  CATHEDRAL,  SANTIAGO. 


the  young  folks,  who,  however,  amuse  themselves  in  a quiet  and  order- 
ly manner,  having  none  of  those  boisterous  games  and  violent  exer- 
cises which  are  needed  to  develop  the  conquering  muscle  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  youth.  The  plaza  of  Santiago  is  of  fine  proportions,  and 
rendered  very  charming  by  the  shade  trees  planted  around  it,  and 
by  the  small  but  luxuriant  garden  and  trellised  walks  around  the 


104 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


central  fountain,  which  in  summer  plays  amid  a brilliant  mass  of 
perfumed  flowers  carefully  protected  by  iron  railings  and  a vigilant 
policeman,  who  locks  the  gate  at  ten  o’clock,  so  that  the  garden  and 
its  blooming  riches  may  not  be  carried  away  surreptitiously  by  night. 
As  I was  informed  by  an  Irish  lady  with  a delightful  brogue,  who 
has  had  thirty  years’  experience  of  Chili  at  the  head  of  a charitable 
institution  for  orphan  girls : “ The  vice  of  the  counthry  is  thieving.’’ 
Protective  measures  are  therefore  necessary. 

In  the  daytime  the  plaza  is  visited  only  by  a few  people  of  the 
lower  classes,  who  sit  on  the  benches  to  rest  or  to  loaf.  Other  people 
cross  it  diagonally  on  their  way  to  and  from  different  parts  of  the 
town.  The  coachmen  wait  for  customers  for  their  two-horse  landaus 
and  barouches  which  stand  around  the  plaza — a select  few  presenting 
a marked  contrast  with  the  ordinary  broken-down,  rickety,  and  dirty 
Santiago  street  carriage,  drawn  by  a pair  of  miserable  horses,  and 
driven  by  a disreputable  and  stupid  human  being,  who  sits  under  a 
hood  in  front  of  the  coach.  The  Santiago  hackney-coach,  such  as 
receives  the  traveller  on  his  arrival  at  the  railway  station,  is  a disgrace 
to  so  wealthy  a city,  and  comparable  only  to  certain  specimens  found 
in  the  wilder  parts  of  Bulgaria,  which  country,  as  far  as  my  experience 
goes,  occupies  one  of  the  lowest  positions  in  the  tabulated  observations 
hitherto  made  in  that  important  branch  of  sociology  known  to  special- 
ists under  the  heading  of  “ comparative  cabs.”  The  traffic  in  the 
streets  around  the  plaza,  besides  the  tram-ways  and  cabs,  consists  of 
carts  drawn  by  three  horses  or  mules  harnessed  abreast,  and  one  of 
them  ridden  by  the  driver,  armed  with  an  active  whip ; teams  of  four 
bullocks  bowing  their  heads  under  the  heavy  yoke,  and  preceded  by 
a man  carrying  a long  bamboo  goad,  who  prods  the  beasts  with  a 
bucolic  dignity  that  Virgil  forgot  to  analyze;  men  riding  on  horses 
or  mules,  and  wearing  ponchos , and  very  wide-brimmed  Panama  hats 
with  broad  black  ribbons  to  tie  them  under  the  chin;  Chola  cross- 
breed women  with  a parting  at  the  back  of  the  head  and  two  long 
braids  of  coarse  black  hair  hansringr  over  the  shoulders ; Cholitas  and 
Chilenas  wearing  the  black  shawl  or  manta  which  is  the  universal 
morning  attire  of  South  American  women,  both  of  high  and  of  low 
degree.  A Chilian  woman  never  enters  a church  except  clad  in  this 
almost  monastic  uniform  of  a plain  dark  skirt  and  a manta , worn  as 
a shawl  in  a point  at  the  back,  and  stretched  tightly  over  the  head 
to  make  a sort  of  hood  and  black  frame  that  sets  off  the  white  skin 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


105 


and  bright  eyes  of  the  wearer.  The  manta  effectually  puts  a stop  to 
rivalry  and  jealousy  in  matters  of  dress,  so  far  as  church  hours  are 
concerned.  Nothing  can  be  more  decorous  and  touching  than  the 


sight  of  all  these  women  sitting 
or  kneeling  on  the  cathedral  floor, 
the  Cho/as  obeying  the  instincts 
of  their  Indian  blood  and  frankly 
squatting  on  the  flags.  There  is 

CALLE  DEL  PUENTE,  SANTIAGO.  . r r . 

no  distraction,  no  danger  ot  a fair 
worshipper’s  thoughts  being  di- 
verted from  her  prayer-book  to  the  criticism  of  her  neighbor’s  new 
bonnet.  And  yet  there  is  room  for  the  display  of  coquetry  in  so 
simple  a garment  as  a black  manta : it  may  be  of  more  or  less  fine 
stuff ; it  may  be  discreetly  embroidered ; above  all,  it  may  be  worn 
with  more  or  less  elegance,  the  folds  around  the  face  arranged  with 
a certain  piquancy,  the  shape  of  the  coiffure  revealed  by  a more 
pointed  silhouette  on  the  top  of  the  head,  or  a fascinating  curl  allowed 
to  escape  by  the  merest  accident  from  beneath  the  austere  hood, 
whose  only  object  is  to  hide  that  which  the  Scriptures  declare  to  be 
the  glory  of  a woman.  There  is  something  very  pretty,  too,  in  the 
way  the  women  have  of  readjusting  the  fold  of  the  shawl  that  is 
thrown  over  the  left  shoulder;  the  gesture  may  be  charming,  and 
would  doubtless  have  inspired  Captain  Steele  with  many  a gallant 


1 


io6 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


simile  if  he  could  have  seen  some  of  the  Jocastas  and  Belindas  of 
Santiago  as  they  come  out  of  church  of  a morning  and  take  a turn 
through  the  baratillos  on  their  way  home. 

The  baratillos  are  a great  feature  of  the  plaza.  They  occupy  the 
spaces  between  the  arches  of  the  arcades,  or  portales , and  consist  of 
booths  and  stalls  which,  when  closed  at  night,  with  their  shutters,  look 
like  big  cupboards  set  against  the  wall.  In  these  booths  are  sold  ci- 
gars and  cigarettes,  toilet  articles,  toys,  mercery,  flowers,  and  fruit,  while 
the  other  side  of  the  arcade  is  lined  with  regular  shops.  In  the  blocks 
adjoining  the  plaza  are  some  handsome  passages  full  of  shops,  where 
French,  German,  and  English  manufactured  articles  of  all  descrip- 
tions are  displayed  for  the  temptation  of  the  fair  sex.  The  principal 
streets  for  retail  business  and  also  the  market  being  close  to  the  plaza, 
this  centre  is  well  adapted  during  the  daytime  for  the  study  of  mantas 
and  their  wearers.  The  shops  of  Santiago  are  not  remarkable  for 
stylishness ; on  the  contrary,  they  are  rather  shabby  and  provincial- 
looking. The  goods  are  displayed  generally  pell-mell,  and  the  great 
art  of  window-dressing  is  yet  unknown.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is 
a good  assortment  of  things  for  sale,  and  a large  place  given  to  ob- 
jects of  luxury.  A point  worthy  of  notice  is  the  large  number  of  im- 
portant book-shops,  comparatively  with  other  South  American  cities, 
and  the  serious  class  of  works  offered  for  sale,  although  in  all  of  them 
you  will  also  find  a prominent  place  given  to  French  publications, 
particularly  French  novels,  including  the  most  libertine  productions 
of  the  modern  Parisian  artistic  pornographers.  For  that  matter,  I 
may  say  that  in  all  the  towns  I have  visited,  from  the  Volga  to  the 
Pacific,  these  naughty  French  books,  with  a black- stockinged  but 
otherwise  nude  heroine  depicted  on  the  cover,  have  always  appeared 
most  obtrusively  en  evidence , so  that  the  above  observation  cannot  be 
taken  as  a special  reproach  to  Santiago.  Indeed,  far  be  it  from  me  to 
make  any  reproaches.  The  statement  of  a fact  need  not  imply  the 
passing  of  a judgment.  To  return  now  to  the  shops,  it  may  be  noted 
as  typical  of  creole  indolence  that  towards  five  o'clock  in  the  after- 
noon the  shutters  are  put  up  for  two  hours,  and  at  half-past  eight  or 
nine  all  the  stores  are  closed ; there  seems  to  be  a desire  to  devote  as 
little  time  as  possible  to  business,  and  as  much  as  possible  to  ciga- 
rette-smoking, gossip,  and  meditation.  This  is  not  a reproach  either; 
it  simply  means  that  the  Chilian  temperament  is  averse  to  early 
rising,  continuous  effort,  or  excessive  energy;  where  these  qualities 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


107 


are  needed,  the  foreigner  is  called  in.  Hence  the  cosmopolitan 
names  on  the  sign-boards,  the  groups  of  unmistakable  Englishmen  in 
various  businesses,  and  the  equally  if  not  more  numerous  specimens 
of  blond,  ponderous,  and  highly  accomplished  Germans.  Wherever 
the  Chilians  are  left  to  themselves  and  their  own  devices,  there  will 


IN  THE  ARCADES,  SANTIAGO. 


invariably  be  found  evidences  of  indolence  and  slovenliness,  although 
they  profess  to  be  the  Yankees  of  South  America,  and  the  most  pro- 
gressive and  civilized  nation  between  Cape  Horn  and  the  Caribbean 
Sea.  Take  the  public  library  of  the  capital,  for  instance,  now  lodged 
in  the  old  Congress  Hall.  This  collection  comprises  70,000  volumes, 


io8 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


in  course  of  being  catalogued — 16,000  volumes  for  the  out-door  lend- 
ing department,  already  catalogued;  and  a very  large  collection  of 
colonial  archives  and  documents,  some  25,000  pieces  of  the  greatest 
value  for  the  history  of  New  Spain.  The  librarian  informed  me  that 
as  many  as  a hundred  readers  a day  made  use  of  the  large  reading- 
room,  but  on  the  day  of  my  visit  there  were  only  nine  persons  there. 
However  that  may  be,  I could  not  fail  to  be  struck  by  the  untidy  as- 
pect of  the  establishment,  and  particularly  by  the  fact  that  both  read- 
ers and  employes  are  allowed  to  smoke  freely  cigars  or  cigarettes  as 
they  please,  and  that,  too,  in  the  very  room  where  the  archives  of  the 
nation's  history  are  stored  with  inadequate  care  and  respect.  The 
only  place  where  the  Chilians  do  not  smoke  is  in  the  church,  which 
for  that  reason,  perhaps,  is  not  much  frequented  by  the  men.  The 
priests  smoke  constantly  in  the  streets;  in  the  tram-ways  and  the 
railway  trains  absolute  liberty  of  smoking  prevails. 

It  is  always  interesting,  on  arriving  in  a strange  city,  to  wander 
about  the  streets,  and  receive  some  rudimentary  and  unbiassed  im- 
pressions before  kind  friends  find  you  out,  and  proceed  to  show  you 
the  sights  and  introduce  you  to  representative  men,  and  fill  you  with 
information,  statistics,  and  opinions,  which  it  becomes  your  arduous 
duty  to  assimilate  and  to  control.  We  have  seen  the  plaza,  the  ar- 
cades, and  the  passages  which  have  a certain  character  and  original- 
ity. The  other  streets  are  interminable  straight  roads,  crossed  at  reg- 
ular intervals  by  other  straight  roads;  some  fairly  paved,  others  badly 
paved;  some  lined  with  old-fashioned  buildings  bristling  with  flag- 
poles, others  lined  with  mansions  interspersed  with  poor  plebeian 
houses ; some  streets  planted  with  trees,  others  devoid  of  shade,  and 
all  of  them  sufficiently  monotonous.  When  you  have  seen  two  or 
three  streets  in  Santiago,  together  with  the  plaza,  the  alamecia , and 
the  hill  of  Santa  Lucia,  you  have  seen  the  whole  city ; the  rest  is  all 
sameness  and  repetition  spread  over  an  expanse  of  many  square  miles, 
for  Santiago  occupies  a superficies  out  of  reasonable  proportion  with 
its  189.000  inhabitants,  who  require  to  be  conveyed  from  point  to 
point  by  a railway  and  an  important  net-work  of  tram-ways.  Since 
the  war  against  Peru,  it  appears,  women  have  been  employed  as  con- 
ductors of  the  horse-cars,  and  at  one  time  an  attempt  was  made  to 
employ  women  as  drivers  too,  but  it  failed.  Chilian  beasts  of  draught 
are  obstinate,  and  require  a stronger  hand  than  a woman’s  to  manage 
them.  As  it  is,  all  over  Chili,  in  the  large  towns  as  well  as  the  small 


WOMAN  CAR  CONDUCTOR,  SANTIAGO. 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


1 1 1 


ones,  the  tram-way  conductors  are  girls,  whose  uniform  consists  simply 
of  a man’s  straw  hat,  a money-bag,  and  a white  apron,  the  rest  of  their 
costume  being  left  to  individual  taste.  These  girls  have  a seat  at  the 
back  of  the  car,  and  seem  to  perform  their  duties  modestly,  and  to  the 
general  satisfaction.  The  pretty  ones,  or  rather  the  least  bad-looking 
— for  the  Chilian  women  of  the  lower  classes  are  not  blessed  with 
much  fairness  of  face — rarely  remain  long  in  the  service ; they  soon 
find  husbands,  or  get  otherwise  provided  for.  The  horse -car  girl  is 
one  of  the  peculiarities  of  Chilian  street  life.  As  far  as  I know,  it  is 
the  only  country  in  the  world  where  women  are  engaged  in  such  work. 
The  telephone  being  very  popular  in  Santiago,  the  main  arteries  of  the 
town  are  planted  with  tall  white  posts  and  crossbars  carrying  innumer- 
able wires,  which  do  not  augment  their  beauty.  As  for  the  houses,  the 
majority  are  built  of  adobe  or  sun-dried  bricks,  and  the  second  story, 
if  there  be  one,  of  Guayaquil  cane,  the  whole  plastered  over  with  mud 
and  stucco,  and  colored  and  ornamented  in  a greater  or  less  degree. 
Most  of  the  houses  have  but  one  story,  and  are  built  as  lightly  as  pos- 
sible, for  fear  of  earthquakes;  but  the  more  modern  houses  are  built 
of  bricky  for  the  first  story  at  least,  with  very  thick  walls  and  strong 
foundations,  often  of  stone ; and  if  the  second  story  be  built  of  brick 
also,  the  whole  structure  will  be  braced  together  with  iron,  so  that  no 
mere  trembling  earthquake  could  shake  it  down.  Of  late  some  three- 
story  houses  have  been  erected.  Many  of  the  private  houses  in  San- 
tiago are  of  patriarchal  proportions,  covering  four  or  five  hundred 
square  feet  of  ground,  and  having  accommodation  for  three  genera- 
tions of  a family,  and  dining-rooms  where  fifty  or  sixty  people  can  sit 
at  ease.  Many  of  them  have  considerable  architectural  merit,  always 
within  the  traditions  of  the  Renaissance  style  and  its  derivatives; 
often,  too,  the  painted  stucco  and  elaborate  mouldings  of  the  fa9ades 
are  enriched  with  slabs  of  real  marble.  But,  as  a rule,  stucco  and 
paint  of  the  most  delicate  shades  of  blue,  rose,  green,  yellow,  and  brown 
are  thought  sufficient,  and  imitation  of  everything  that  is  good  and 
bad  in  architecture  is  here  carried  to  a degree  that  would  make  a 
Ruskin  frantic.  Alas!  although  Don  Pedro  de  Valdivia  founded  the 
city  of  Santiago  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  the  inhabitants 
have  not  yet  had  time  to  acquire  for  themselves  a distinct  personal- 
ity ; themselves,  their  life,  manners,  and  surroundings  are  reflections 
of  the  Old  World  from  which  they  came;  and  like  too  many  of  the 
nations  of  old  Europe,  when  they  finally  determined  to  embellish  their 


I 12 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


city  with  new  monuments,  they  could  conceive  nothing  more  novel 
and  original  than  to  seek  inspiration  in  a Greek  temple  of  the  age  of 
Pericles,  and  a castellated  stronghold  of  the  epoch  of  the  Crusades ; 
hence  the  Congress  building,  the  new  cathedral,  and  the  towers  of 
Santa  Lucia.  Does  it  not  seem  strange  that  in  the  land  of  the  Incas, 
about  whom  nothing  precise  is  known — in  the  land  of  the  conquista- 
doves , who  had  seen  the  grace  and  splendor  of  the  Alhambra;  in  the 
land  of  these  modern  Chilians,  whose  representative  men  have  trav- 
elled in  many  countries  and  speak  many  tongues,  besides  being  other- 
wise highly  intelligent  and  ambitious  of  national  distinction  — does  it 
not  seem  strange  to  find  the  Senators  and  Deputies  holding  their 
sittings  inside  a vast  pile  of  rose  terra-cotta-colored  stucco  correctly 
conceived  in  the  Corinthian  style,  and  adorned  with  tall  columns  and 
elaborate  capitals  whose  acanthus  scrolls  are  prodigies  of  lath  and 
plaster  ? 

Does  it  not  seem  still  more  strange,  in  a land  where  the  fear  of 
earthquakes  is  always  reasonable,  and  in  a land  where  stone  adapted 
for  the  carver's  chisel  is  unknown,  that  men  should  be  found  to  order, 
and  an  architect  to  construct,  a cathedral  in  the  Gothic  style  with 
rose-windows  laboriously  built  of  brick,  clustered  columns  that  have 
no  raison  d'etre , and  floral  capitals  of  plaster  that  are  at  best  a miser- 
able sham  ? A similar  absence  not  only  of  originality  but  of  the  most 
elementary  ideas  of  appropriateness  to  the  end,  of  utility,  of  comfort,  of 
personality,  in  short  of  any  kind,  may  be  noticed  in  many  of  the  pri- 
vate mansions  which  wealth  and  vanity  have  erected.  One  man  has 
built  himself  a Pompeiian  house,  magnifying  the  proportions  to  a 
scale  the  model  was  never  intended  to  support.  Another  citizen  de- 
lights in  a gloomy  pseudo -Tudor  home.  A third  has  thought  that 
nothing  could  be  more  original  than  a Turco-Siamese  villa  with  gilt 
domes  and  minarets  on  the  roof.  The  most  famous  of  all  the  show 
houses  of  Santiago,  that  of  Senora  Isidora  Cousino,  is  even  more  de- 
void of  originality  than  the  others.  It  is  a handsome  two-story  man- 
sion with  Ionic  pilasters  and  panels  of  blue  and  yellow  faience  tiles 
set  in  the  faqade  to  form  plaques  and  cornices,  and  so  relieve  the  flat- 
ness of  the  white  stuccoed  walls.  Around  the  house  is  a garden,  not 
kept  with  that  abundance  of  flowers  and  minute  care  which  character- 
ize European  horticulture.  This  house  was  designed  by  a French 
architect,  and  entirely  decorated  and  furnished  by  French  artists  and 
artisans.  Here  we  are  in  the  capital  of  Chili,  thousands  and  thou- 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


113 

sands  of  miles  away  from  Europe,  in  a country  that  has  its  own  flora 
and  fauna,  its  incomparable  mineral  wealth,  its  characteristic  scenery 
of  mountain,  valley,  and  sea-coast,  its  interesting  aboriginal  inhabitants, 


THE  COUSlSJO  HOUSE,  SANTIAGO. 


its  popular  customs,  its  special  methods  of  agriculture.  Surely  there 
are  themes  for  the  decorative  painter  in  these  sources  of  inspiration. 
Sehora  Cousino  thinks  differently,  and  so  she  has  commissioned  M. 
Georges  Clairin  to  paint  for  her  entrance  hall  and  staircase  the  four 
seasons  such  as  they  do  not  appear  in  the  Southern  Hemisphere,  to- 
gether with  strangely  frivolous  Parisian  scenes — a masked  ball  at  the 
Opera ; the  corner  of  the  boulevard  where  the  Cafe  de  la  Paix  stands ; 
the  tribunes  at  Longchamps,  with  some  well-known  cocottes  in  the  fore- 
ground ; and  the  Place  de  la  Concorde,  with  more  cocottes  in  front  of 
the  fountain.  M.  Clairin  has  executed  these  panels  with  his  usual 
facile  skill,  and  there  they  stand,  glaring,  ineloquent,  and  incongruous, 
beneath  the  glorious  Southern  Cross.  The  rooms  of  the  Cousino 
house  are  all  most  richly  furnished  in  the  best  modern  French  taste; 


114 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


the  wall  hangings  and  curtains  are  particularly  magnificent,  and  the 
ensemble  is  handsome  and  in  good  current  taste.  The  pictures,  sculpt- 
ure, and  bibelots  are  poor  in  the  extreme.  Indeed,  had  it  not  been  so 
famed  in  Chili,  and  so  much  talked  about  by  travellers,  I should  not 
have  thought  of  speaking  about  this  house,  for,  after  all,  it  is  only  re- 
markable as  an  instance  of  French  influence.  Every  detail  is  French 
and  nothing  in  it  at  all  Chilian,  except  the  inhabitants,  and  they  are 
cosmopolitans.  The  genuine  Chilian  house  is  the  old  Spanish  house 
built  around  one  or  more  court-yards,  and  shut  off  from  the  street  by 
an  open-work  wrought-iron  gate,  and  by  heavy  wooden  doors  that  are 
closed  at  night ; it  is  the  house  that  we  have  seen  in  Cordoba  or  Se- 
ville, with  its  blind  side  turned  towards  the  public,  and  revealing 
through  the  elegant  scrolls  of  its  protecting  iron  screen  a glimpse 
only  of  the  orange-trees  and  flowers  that  sweeten  the  privacy  of  the 
patio ; it  is  the  semi-Oriental  dwelling  of  Andalusia,  sacred  to  family 
life  and  not  readily  opened  to  strangers.  Of  these  old  colonial  houses, 
with  far-projecting  roofs,  carved  rafters,  nail-studded  doors,  and  strong- 
ly barred  windows,  many  may  still  be  seen  in  Santiago.  The  genuine 
creole  mansions  are  built  on  the  same  plan,  with  severe  exterior  and 
impenetrable  interior,  court-yard  behind  court -yard  withdrawing  the 
intimacy  of  family  life  farther  from  the  scrutiny  of  indiscreet  gazers. 
Such,  too,  is  the  plan  even  of  the  more  modern  houses  that  make  a 
show  of  gay  colors,  ornaments,  and  precious  marbles  on  their  fa9ades, 
but  still  withdraw  the  living-rooms  into  the  stillness  of  sheltered 
court-yards.  The  poor  alone  live  in  public,  either  in  the  unhygienic 
sheds  and  cottages  of  the  city,  or  in  the  rudimentary  cane  huts  of  the 
suburbs,  where  the  peones  and  their  families  squat  on  the  ground  like 
wild  Indians,  and  manifest  fewer  evidences  of  civilization  than  the 
miserablest  of  the  Russian  peasantry.  For  the  peones , life  is  truly  a 
question  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  inasmuch  as  none  but  the  very 
strongest  can  live  through  the  trials  of  childhood. 

Thanks  to  the  fearful  dens  in  which  the  poorer  classes  of  Chili 
live,  the  infant  mortality  is  enormous.  On  the  other  hand,  the  peones 
and  their  women  folk  are  prodigies  of  hardy  endurance ; they  are  in- 
deed the  fittest  and  strongest  of  their  generation,  all  the  weaker  hav- 
ing died  in  the  first  few  months  or  years  of  their  struggle  against 
insalubrious  circumstances  and  conditions.  These  infant  victims  of 
defective  sanitary  arrangements  do  not  occasion  grief  or  mourning  by 
their  premature  departure  from  this  world ; their  mothers  believe  that 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


1 1 5 


more.  In  one  village  that  I hap- 
pened to  visit  an  epidemic  of  mea- 
sles had  made  half  a dozen  angeli-  ^ 
tos,  and  for  nearly  three  weeks  no  w 
work  had  been  done  for  many  miles 
around.  The  whole  population  had 
been  keeping  up  a continuous  wake,  dancing,  singing,  and  drinking 
around  the  angelitos , who  were  dressed  up  like  church  images,  and 
surrounded  by  burning  tapers.  This  belief  in  angelitos  and  the  cus- 
tom of  wakes  also  prevail  in  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  the  Argentine. 


PROCESSION  OF  CORPUS  CHRISTI,  SANTIAGO. 


the  little  souls  immediately  go  to  paradise  and  become  angels,  and  so 
they  are  called  angelitos , and  their  death  is  a pretext  for  rejoicing,  and 
inviting  neighbors  to  drink  and  dance.  The  little  corpses  are  kept 
for  days  and  days;  often  you  will  see  women  in  the 
trains  and  the  horse-cars  with  dead  babies  in  their 
laps ; the  photographers,  too,  are  constantly  having 

infant  corpses 
brought  to  them 
to  make  souvenir 
portraits.  In  the 
country  the  death 
of  an  infant  will 
interrupt  work 
for  a week  or 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


1 16 


The  fine  houses  of  Santiago,  I am  told,  are  not  often  opened  for 
entertainments.  The  invitation  to  dinner  is  not  so  freely  given  as  in 
Anglo-Saxon  countries ; the  family  circle  is  more  close ; the  family 
life  of  two  or  three  generations  is  self-sufficing:.  The  means  of  social 
intercourse  is  the  tertulia , the  reception,  or  medianoche , where  the 
young  people  dance  and  the  old  people  gossip ; these,  however,  I am 
told,  are  rare,  so  that  there  cannot  be  said  to  be  much  social  move- 
ment in  Santiago.  But  of  these  matters  a stranger  cannot  speak 
with  confidence,  for  unless  he  spends  years  in  a city  he  does  not  pen- 
etrate the  mysteries,  if  mysteries  there  be,  of  what  people  are  accus- 
tomed to  call  society.  Such  social  animation  as  he  sees  is  that  of  the 
theatres  and  the  public  resorts.  Strange  to  say,  in  spite  of  the  lovely 
climate,  cafes  are  not  in  favor  in  Chili.  Nowhere  do  you  find  those 
dainty  little  tables  on  the  sidewalk,  as  in  Paris,  where  you  can  sit  and 
enjoy  the  spectacle  de  la  rice. 

Santiago  has  a very  large,  commodious,  and  elegant  theatre,  which 
has  its  opera  season  every  year,  and  the  usual  windfalls  of  travelling 
companies  during  the  winter,  while  the  pleasant  little  theatre  on  the 
top  of  Santa  Lucia  offers  light  and  digestive  operetta  and  zarzuela  on 
the  warm  summer  evenings.  This  delightful  hill  is  an  example  of 
intelligent  city  improvement.  A few  years  ago  it  was  a barren  plu- 
tonic  rock  lifting  up  its  untidy  aridity  in  the  midst  of  the  city ; now  it 
is  an  aerial  park,  a hanging  garden,  a mass  of  trees  and  flowers,  and 
sinuous  walks  rising  to  a height  of  some  three  hundred  feet,  and  sur- 
mounted by  towers  and  battlements  of  mediaeval  style,  within  which 
are  restaurants  and  refreshment  bars  and  the  theatre — the  last  a very 
pretty  and  comfortable  place,  and  often  fertile  in  contrasts,  so  far  as 
concerns  the  audience.  One  night  that  I was  there  I had  for  neigh- 
bors the  ladies  of  a whole  family  of  civilized  Araucanian  Indians,  who 
spoke  the  language  of  Cervantes,  and  heartily  applauded  an  indiffer- 
ent performance  of  the  Mascotte.  Such  surprises  are  nowadays  only 
too  common ; facility  of  communications  destroys  local  color,  and  sows 
disappointment  in  the  path  of  the  traveller. 

The  view  from  the  top  of  Santa  Lucia  on  a moonlight  night  is  of 
unsurpassed  charm.  The  whole  plain  is  spread  out  before  you,  with 
its  dark  enclosing  mountains,  and  at  your  feet  lies  the  expanse  of  the 
town,  with  its  reddish-brown  tile  roofs,  its  patios , from  which  rise  here 
and  there  masses  of  foliage,  its  cloistered  convents,  its  churches  and 
towers,  its  alamcda  of  tall  trees — the  whole  plunged  in  mysterious 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


II 7 


SANTA  LUCIA. 


black  permeating  shadow,  dot- 
ted at  rare  intervals  by  street 
lamps,  and  relieved  with  patches 
of  silver  sheen  wherever  the 
moonlight  strikes  the  roofs  and 
salient  objects.  Between  the 
point  where  we  are  standing 
and  the  foot  hills  of  the  Andes, 
the  vast  plain  stretches  darkly, 
and,  to  close  in  the  perspective, 

the  imposing  silhouette  of  the  mountains  towers  up  like  a silvery 
phantom,  above  which  the  moon  resplends  with  a pure  brilliancy  of 
dazzling  intensity.  The  landscape  is  so  admirably  composed,  the  pict- 
uresque arrangement  so  perfect,  and  the  management  of  the  light 
and  shade  so  ideally  excellent,  that  one  cannot  help  remarking  how 
suggestive  the  view  is  of  nature  corrected  by  art,  as  she  generally 
needs  to  be;  it  reminds  one  of  an  ideally  beautiful  piece  of  theatrical 
scene-painting.  Indeed,  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  situation  of  the 
town  of  Santiago  is  admirable,  and  if  heroes  in  their  eternal  sleep  still 
take  interest  in  the  things  of  this  world,  its  founder  may  well  be  proud 


1 18 


THE  SPAXISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


of  his  choice,  and  of  the  honor  paid  to  his  memory.  On  the  hill  of 
Santa  Lucia,  overlooking  the  town,  is  a white  marble  statue  of  the 
conquistador , with  the  following  inscription  : 

Don  Pedro  de  Valdivia 
valeroso  capitan  estremino 
primer  gobernador  de  Chile 
Que  en  este  mismo  sitio 
Acampo  su  hueste 
de  ciento  cincuenta  conquistadores 
el  13  de  Diciembre  1540 
dando  a estas  rocas  el  nombre  de 
Santa  Lucia 

i formando  de  ellas  un  baluarte 
delineo  i fundo  la  ciudad  de 
Santiago 

el  12  de  Febrero  1541. 

The  alameda  of  Santiago,  a magnificent  avenue  of  trees,  with  a 
broad  roadway  on  each  side,  lined  with  houses  of  high  and  low  de- 
gree, ought  to  be  the  Champs  Elysees  of  the  Chilian  capital.  Here 
should  be  the  great  public  buildings,  the  fine  mansions,  the  favorite 
promenade  of  the  citizens  amid  the  monuments  of  the  past  and  pres- 
ent glory  of  the  nation.  Here,  indeed,  are  the  statues  and  busts  of 
heroes — General  San  Martin,  whose  march  across  the  Andes  entitles 
him  to  be  compared  with  Hannibal  and  Napoleon;  Bernardo  O' Hig- 
gins, Carrera,  Bello,  Freire,  and  others  whose  names  should  awaken 
patriotic  echoes  in  Chilian  breasts.  But  the  marble  and  the  bronze 
are  neglected ; the  alameda  is  not  a fashionable  resort,  except  in  one 
small  section  where  the  carriages  congregate  on  certain  days  of  the 
week,  and  the  gentlemen  pay  their  respects  to  the  ladies,  who  sit  in 
their  coaches  under  the  trees.  The  rest  of  the  fine  avenue  is  lone- 
some, badly  paved,  absolutely  deserted.  In  the  morning  you  see  the 
country  people  milking  their  cows  there,  while  under  the  trees  are 
piles  of  watermelons,  elementary  tents  or  booths,  and  gypsy  fires, 
where  the  workmen  obtain  a simple  and  inexpensive  meal.  The  ala- 
meda is  typical  of  Chilian  men  and  things  in  general.  It  possesses 
all  the  elements  necessary  for  excellence,  but  from  want  of  energy, 
attention,  and  continuous  effort  it  remains  inchoate,  unsatisfactory, 
and  irritating. 

Of  an  evening  the  plaza  is  the  great  fashionable  and  popular  re- 
sort for  young  and  old  people  alike.  In  an  elegant  kiosk,  surrounded 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


1 19 


by  sentries  with  grounded  arms,  one  of  the  military  bands  plays  Eu- 
ropean music,  waltzes,  operatic  pieces,  and  what  not,  while  the  public 
sits  or  walks  round  and  round  the  square,  the  men  in  many  cases 
wearing  tall  silk  hats  and  black  coats,  the  women  and  children  dressed 
in  Parisian  costumes  that  often  have  a savor  of  excess,  as  if  they  were 
extravagant  models  which  the  good  taste  of  the  French  capital  had 
refused  to  adopt,  but  which  the  unscrupulous  exporters  had  sent  out 
beyond  the  seas,  as  they  send  out  corrosive  liquors  with  special  labels, 
“ bon  pour  negres.”  Beautiful  girls  abound  in  Santiago,  and  it  is  a 
pleasure  to  sit  and  see  them  pass,  and  to  attribute  to  them  in  fancy  all 
the  moral  and  intellectual  qualities  which  they  must  have  in  reality. 

This  discreet  inspection,  how- 
ever, does  not  satisfy  the  youth 
of  Santiago.  Following  the  cus- 
tom prevalent  in  Buenos  Ayres, 
the  young  men  simply  stand  in 
line  along  the  promenade  and 
stare  at  the  pretty  girls  as  they 
walk  by,  in  a manner  that  seems 
to  a stranger  to  be  a little  in- 


THE  ALAMEDA. 


120 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


delicate.  Such,  it  appears,  is  the  creole  custom,  which  it  is  none  of 
our  business  to  criticise.  I cannot,  however,  help  remarking  the  use- 
less existence  led  by  the  very  numerous  jeunesse  doree  of  the  capital, 
composed  of  young  men  who  for  the  most  part  have  spent  a year  or 
two  in  Paris,  and  now  endeavor  to  continue  in  Santiago  the  life  of 
frivolous  dissipation  which  was  all  they  saw  of  France.  These  young 
men  have  no  respect  for  women.  Their  thoughts,  conversation,  and 
way  of  life  are  wholly  pernicious. 

While  examining  the  promenaders  on  the  plaza,  where  the  finely 
dressed  ladies  and  gentlemen  are  interspersed  with  men  wearing  pon- 
chos and  big  straw  hats,  and  with  dark-skinned  women  with  straight 
black  hair  and  flattened,  moony  faces,  dressed  in  cotton  dresses  and 
black  shawls,  we  note  the  very  strong  differentiation  of  classes.  On 
the  one  hand,  the  white  men,  the  Caballeros , and  on  the  other,  the 
pcones , or  footmen.  These  latter  are  semi  - Indians,  who  toil,  get 
drunk,  and  multiply,  have  no  morality  to  speak  of,  no  fear  of  death, 
and  in  their  present  intellectual  condition  no  marked  tendencies  to  be 
dissatisfied  with  their  lot.  In  contrast  with  the  white  upper  classes, 
whose  looks  and  dress  are  European  and  devoid  of  any  particular 
character,  the  peones  make  a strong  appeal  to  the  traveller’s  attention, 
for  it  is  they  who  impart  to  the  landscape  in  town  and  country  its 
Chilian  aspect,  and  it  is  they  who  formed  the  conquering  armies  of 
the  regenerated  republic.  Here  on  the  plaza  you  see  both  the  rank 
and  file  of  these  armies  and  the  officers — the  latter  fine  men  of  Span- 
ish type,  for  the  most  part  wearing  uniforms  imitated  from  the  French, 
and  looking  thoroughly  military;  the  former  those  dark-skinned  semi- 
Indian  soldiers,  who  showed  in  the  late  war  against  Peru  that  they 
could  fight  like  demons,  and  kill,  plunder,  and  burn  with  a savage  fe- 
rocity that  few  soldiers  can  equal  and  none  surpass.  Still,  we  must 
not  judge  the  whole  Chilian  army  by  the  conduct  of  the  troops  in 
Peru.  In  order  to  raise  men  for  that  campaign  the  Government  re. 
laxed,  perhaps,  its  severity  of  selection,  and  accepted  many  bad  char- 
acters, which  now  remain  a curse  to  the  country.  Many  of  the  brig- 
ands and  professional  horse-stealers,  who  have  received  their  special 
purloining  education  from  Italian  liquor  - sellers,  and  who  practise 
in  the  newly  settled  Indian  territory  and  the  southern  provinces,  be- 
longed to  regiments  that  were  disbanded  after  the  war,  where  they 
became  so  accustomed  to  pillage  and  rapine  that  they  could  not 
return  to  an  honest  life.  In  the  course  of  years,  and  with  a little  aid 


THE  PLAZA  AT  NIGHT,  SANTIAGO. 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


123 


from  the  police  and  the  gallows,  these  rascals  will,  it  is  to  be  hoped, 
disappear,  and  leave  the  poor  colonists  to  live  in  peace  and  security. 

The  war  and  its  great  prize,  consisting  of  the  rich  provinces  of 
Tarapaca  and  Antofagasta,  have  made  Chili  wealthy,  proud,  and  hate- 
ful to  all  her  neighbors.  In  a way  the  Chilians  are  the  Prussians  of 
South  America,  overweening  talkers,  arrogating  to  themselves  the 
first  place  in  war  and  in  peace  among  the  republics  of  the  Southern 
Hemisphere,  and  taking  measures  to  make  their  pretensions  a reality. 
Thus  in  Santiago  enormous  and  costly  buildings  are  being  con- 
structed for  barracks  and  military  schools,  and  much  prominence  is 
given  to  military  matters,  there  being,  besides  the  Escuela  Militar,  an 
Academia  de  Guerra,  a military  club  and  periodical  subsidized  by  the 
State,  and  an  Institute  of  Military  Engineers,  while  a committee  of 
officers  is  travelling  in  Europe  to  study  the  armies  of  England  and 
the  Continent.  Meanwhile  the  standing  army  has  been  much  re- 
duced within  the  past  few  years,  and  by  the  law  passed  in  December, 
1889,  the  total  number  of  men  under  the  colors  cannot  exceed  5885, 
distributed  in  two  regiments  of  artillery,  one  battalion  of  sappers  and 
miners,  eight  battalions  of  infantry,  and  three  regiments  of  cavalry, 
plus  one  battalion  of  coast  artillery  of  500  men.  The  number  of 
officers  in  active  service  is  943.  Besides  the  regular  army  there  is 
the  Guardia  Nacional  Sedentaria,  consisting  of  artillery,  8970  men, 
and  infantry,  42,120  men,  making  a total  of  51,090  organized  for  mob- 
ilization when  needed.  The  Government  has,  furthermore,  made  a 
contract  with  a Prussian  ex-officer  to  build  fortresses  at  various  points 
along  the  coast,  and  large  purchases  of  guns  are  being  made. 

The  Chilian  navy  is  a matter  of  even  more  national  self-satisfac- 
tion than  the  army.  It  now  consists  of  two  iron-clads,  each  of  2033 
tons,  a monitor  of  1130  tons,  two  corvettes  of  1101  tons,  one  corvette 
of  1075  tons,  two  gunboats  of  600  and  775  tons,  a cruiser  of  3000  tons, 
another  of  465  tons,  ten  torpedo-boats  of  from  40  to  400  horse-power. 
An  iron-clad  of  6902  tons  and  two  cruisers  of  2080  tons  each  are  be- 
ing built  in  France,  and  two  torpedo-boats  and  other  material  in  Eng- 
land. The  naval  forces  consisted  in  1889  of  123  officers,  180  engi- 
neers, pursers,  inspectors,  etc.,  and  1285  sailors  and  men  of  the  crews, 
making  in  all,  including  servants,  a total  of  some  1600  men.  There 
is  an  excellent  naval  college  at  Valparaiso,  a naval  club  and  periodi- 
cal, and  in  Santiago  a hydrographic  office.  All  this  may  seem  very 
insignificant  to  those  who  are  accustomed  to  read  about  the  great 


I 


124  THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 

armed  forces  of  Europe,  but  to  the  Chilians  their  navy  seems  to  be 
the  commencement  at  least  of  a mighty  future.  At  any  rate,  they 
can  ask  any  of  their  neighbors  to  show  something  better  before  they 
begin  to  sneer.  One  weak  point  in  this  navy  is  that  it  possesses 
no  arsenal.  If  a ship  needs  docking  or  repairing,  it  has  to  be  taken 
over  to  Europe. 

The  expenses  of  the  national  armament  are  being  paid  out  of  the 
revenues  produced  by  the  export  tax  on  nitrate,  or,  in  other  words, 
out  of  the  riches  taken  from  the  Peruvians  in  the  late  war.  The 
ministers  of  Public  Instruction  and  of  Public  Works  are  also  accom- 
plishing great  things  with  funds  derived  from  this  source.  Education 
is  the  great  hobby  of  the  actual  president,  Jose  Manuel  Balmaceda, 
more  particularly  primary  education.  Santiago  is  naturally  the  great 
educational  centre  of  Chili.  In  the  alameda  is  the  university,  which 
counted  1175  students  in  1889,  and  has  already  turned  out  more  doc- 
tors and  lawyers  than  the  country  needs,  whether  for  professional  pur- 
poses or  for  the  more  sterile  and  disastrous  occupations  of  politicians, 
Deputies,  and  Senators.  Near  the  Hospital  of  San  Vincent  de  Paul 
and  contiguous  to  the  cemetery  is  an  Escuela  de  Medicina,  a terra- 
cotta-colored stucco  monument  in  the  always  popular  Periclean  Greek 
style  of  architecture.  Then  we  have  for  higher  and  secondary  edu- 
cation the  Instituto  Nacional  of  Santiago,  with  1200  pupils,  and  25 
provincial  liceos  with  a total  of  3800  pupils.  Finally  come  the  free 
primary  schools  throughout  the  country,  numbering  more  than  1000, 
and  having  a total  attendance  of  57,000  boys  and  girls.  There  are 
also  normal  schools  for  preparing  teachers.  The  budget  of  the  De- 
partment of  Public  Instruction  for  1890  exceeds  7,000,000  of  Chilian 
dollars,  including  the  expenditure  for  119  normal,  primary,  and  sec- 
ondary schools  being  built  in  various  towns,  often,  it  would  appear, 
with  great  extravagance,  and  far  in  advance  of  actual  needs.  Private 
schools  are  numerous  also,  and  whatever  criticism  may  be  made  of 
the  Chilians,  it  cannot  be  countersaid  that  both  the  men  and  the  wom- 
en of  the  upper  classes  are  very  well  educated,  well  informed,  and  well 
provided  with  knowledge  of  foreign  languages,  particularly  French 
and  English.  I was  much  interested  by  some  conversation  that  I 
had  with  the  Superior  of  the  Convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart  one  morn- 
ing that  I visited  that  most  fashionable  school  for  Chilian  girls,  now 
presided  over  by  a North  American  Sister.  “ During  the  last  ten 
years,"  she  told  me,  “ English  has  become  the  foreign  language  a la 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


125 


mode , to  the  detriment  of  French,  which  was  formerly  in  favor.  If  the 
girls  are  punished  for  neglecting  their  English  lesson,  the  parents  say 
it  serves  them  right.  If  I punish  them  for  shortcomings  in  the 
French  class,  the  parents  plead  for  indulgence.  Nowadays  in  Chili  if 
you  know  English  you  are  supposed  to  be  sure  of  going  to  heaven.” 
This  last  boiitade  elicited  a reproachful  burst  of  laughter,  and  a scan- 
dalized “Oh,  Mother,  what  are  you  saying?”  from  the  other  Sisters 
who  were  taking  part  in  the  conversation.  But  the  Madre  Superior 
persisted  in  her  paradox,  and  I found  the  confirmation  of  her  remark 
both  in  actual  experience  of  men  and  women  in  Chili  and  also  in  the 
success  of  a private  school  called  Santiago  College,  which  is  in  high 
favor  with  the  liberals,  and  prospers  only  because  it  gives  a good 
high-school  course  with  English  text-books  and  English  teachers.  This 
Santiago  College  was  built  with  funds  given  by  the  Bishop  Taylor 
Transit  and  Building  Fund,  and  doubtless  exists  in  the  eyes  of  its 
New  York  Methodist  patrons  as  a missionary  enterprise.  In  reality, 
the  institution  does  no  missionary  work,  takes  care  to  hide  its  mis- 
sionary connections,  and  in  so  doing  acts  wisely.  Missionaries  are 
not  wanted  in  the  civilized  parts  of  South  America.  The  country  is 
Catholic  and  wishes  to  remain  Catholic.  The  pupils  of  Santiago 
College  simply  receive  there  a good  academical  education,  which  has 
nothing  to  do  with  Methodism,  and  they  obtain  their  religious  instruc- 
tion outside,  and  become  good  Catholics,  boys  and  girls  alike ; for  it 
would  be  a social,  if  not  a moral  disadvantage  to  both,  if  they  did  not 
follow  in  the  steps  of  their  forefathers  and  of  their  contemporaries. 

Santiago  has  incipient  museums  of  interest,  notably  that  of  Nat- 
ural History,  in  the  handsome  exhibition  palace  in  the  park  of  the 
Quinta  Normal,  comprising  sections  devoted  to  zoology,  mineralogy, 
botany,  geology,  palaeontology,  and  ethnology.  The  museum  is 
rather  a dead  place,  betraying  that  lack  of  initiative  and  active  care 
which  we  have  so  often  to  remark  in  Chili.  It  is  not  sufficient  to 
found  a museum,  a library,  or  a school ; it  must  also  be  kept  up  and 
improved  with  equal  and  continuous  attention.  A somewhat  similar 
museum  exists  in  Valparaiso.  In  the  palace  of  the  Quinta  Normal 
there  is  also  a Museo  de  Bellas  Artes,  which  disposes  of  considerable 
sums  for  the  purchase  of  works  of  art,  both  native  and  foreign,  and 
for  the  publication  of  a Revista  de  Bellas  Artes.  The  museo  already 
possesses  a small  collection  of  native  paintings  and  sculpture.  San- 
tiago also  enjoys  an  annual  Salon,  where  an  average  of  400  works 


126 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


are  exhibited,  and  compete  for  prizes  of  a total  value  of  $2500  Chil- 
ian. I did  not  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  one  of  these  exhibitions, 
so  that  I cannot  advance  any  opinion  as  to  contemporary  Chilian  art. 
It  is,  however,  interesting  to  note  that  in  this  ancient  city  of  the  con - 
quistadores  the  citizens  are  beginning  to  take  some  interest  in  mat- 
ters, artistic  and  intellectual,  and  also  that  they  have,  besides  the  an- 
nual Salon,  a school  of  painting,  which  now  boasts  four  pupils,  and 
a school  of  sculpture,  with  two  pupils.  The  Government  ministerial 
report  announces  with  no  small  satisfaction  that  the  pupils  who  most 
distinguish  themselves  in  these  arts  will  be  sent  to  Europe,  with  pen- 
sions of  $1500  a year.  The  Santiago  Conservatorio  de  Musica,  I am 
told,  has  realized  great  progress  within  the  past  few  years,  and  pos- 
sesses a fine  concert -room.  I am  also  informed  that  the  state  spends 
$220,000  Chilian  a year  to  keep  up  the  above  interesting  establish- 
ments, which  all  show  a laudable  desire  to  imitate  foreign  nations, 
more  especially  France. 

While  still  speaking  of  intellectual  matters,  I may  state  that  in 
Chili  are  published  400  daily,  weekly,  monthly,  or  intermittent  period- 
icals. Santiago  has  eight  daily  four-page  papers,  which  are  stated  to 
publish  all  together  more  than  30,000  copies  a day.  One  of  these, 
El  Fcrroccirril,  may  be  seen  all  over  the  south  and  centre  of  the  re- 
public. As  far  as  I could  judge  from  careful  reading  during  a couple 
of  months,  these  papers  satisfy  the  limited  wants  of  the  public,  and 
dole  out  in  an  indolent  and  dignified  way  a certain  quantity  of  news, 
the  obtaining  of  which  has  not  cost  the  reporters  much  effort,  or 
caused  the  editors  to  go  to  bed  late,  or  even  to  sacrifice  a single  con- 
templative cigarette.  These  journals,  like  those  of  France  and  Spain, 
publish  a fcnillcton  novel,  which  is  almost  always  a translation  from 
Ohnet,  Malot,  Maupassant,  Loti,  or  some  other  French  genius.  The 
capital  publishes  sixteen  literary,  artistic,  administrative,  and  scientific 
reviews,  and  ten  various  periodicals,  none  of  which  call  for  special 
mention.  In  Valparaiso  four  daily  papers  are  published,  with  a total 
circulation  of  20,000  copies.  One  of  them — El  Merairio — is  more 
than  fifty  years  old.  One  or  more  newspapers  are  published  in  each 
of  the  capitals  of  departments.  Other  manifestations  of  intellectual 
life  are  the  forty  literary  and  scientific  societies  which  exist  in  Santi- 
ago, at  the  two  most  important  of  which  public  lectures  are  given  in 
season.  But  of  these  I cannot  speak  from  experience.  There  are 
also  nine  social  clubs  in  Santiago,  of  which  the  most  important  is 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


127 


the  Union,  commodiously  lodged  in  a handsome  house,  well  kept, 
and  frequented  by  the  best  men  of  the  republic.  At  the  Union  you 
will  hear  the  political  situation  of  Chili  discussed  three  times  a day 
round  an  excellently  served  table,  and  after  dinner  there  is  plenty  of 
money  to  be  lost  and  won  in  the  card-rooms  at  poker  or  rocambole. 

Politics  in  Chili,  as  in  all  the  Southern  republics,  is  an  inter- 
minable subject  of  conversation,  and  perhaps  it  has  never  been  more 
ardently  pursued  than  during  the  administration  of  President  Bal- 
maceda.  The  cry  is  reform  and  progress.  The  Government  of  Chili 
is  nominally  popular  and  representative ; the  republic  one  and  indi- 


CHAMBER  OF  DEPUTIES,  SANTIAGO. 


visible;  and  the  Constitution  is  supposed  to  be  modelled  on  that  of 
the  United  States.  The  President  is  elected  every  five  years  by 
electors  appointed  directly  by  the  provinces,  at  the  rate  of  three 
electors  for  each  deputy  to  which  the  province  has  a right.  The 
President  is  not  eligible  for  re-election  except  after  an  interval  of  one 
term.  He  administrates  through  six  ministers,  chosen  by  himself,  and 
a Council  of  State  composed  of  eleven  members,  six  elected  by  the 
Congress,  and  five  appointed  by  the  President  himself.  This  Council 


128 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


is  not  remunerated,  and  is  of  little  importance,  owing  to  the  great 
powers  held  by  the  President,  who  really  directs  the  whole  adminis- 
trative and  elective  machinery.  Thus  the  President  appoints  and  re- 
moves at  will  the  intendentes , or  governors  of  provinces,  and  the  go- 
bcrnadores,  or  governors  of  departments.  These  latter  appoint  the 
subdelegates,  who  preside  over  the  subdelegations,  and  in  their  turn 
appoint  inspectores , who  preside  over  districts.  In  this  way  the  Presi- 
dent controls  absolutely  the  political  administration  of  the  republic  in 
its  divisions  and  subdivisions  of  province,  department,  subdelegation, 
and  district ; all  the  officials  are  his  creatures,  and  dependent  for 
their  position  on  his  good-will.  The  municipal  authority  is  vested  in 
city  Councils,  elected  every  three  years  by  the  people ; but  their  ac- 
tivity is  very  limited.  The  judicial  power  is  vested  in  magistrates  ap- 
pointed, under  certain  rules,  by  the  President  of  the  republic  ; but 
they  cannot  be  revoked  without  legal  cause.  The  legislative  power 
resides  in  a national  Congress,  composed  of  a Chamber  of  Deputies, 
elected  directly  by  the  departments,  in  the  proportion  of  one  deputy 
for  every  30,000  inhabitants  and  fraction  of  the  same  not  less  than 
15.000,  and  of  a Senate,  whose  members  are  elected  by  popular  vote 
by  the  provinces  at  the  rate  of  one  senator  for  every  three  deputies 
and  fraction  of  two  deputies  by  which  the  province  may  be  represent- 
ed. Deputies  are  elected  every  three  years,  and  the  Senate  renewed 
in  half  its  numbers  likewise  every  three  years,  each  senator  thus  re- 
maining in  service  six  years. 

During  the  past  six  administrations,  we  may  say  without  fear  of 
contradiction,  the  Government  of  Chili,  in  spite  of  its  name,  has  been 
an  oligarchy,  composed  of  the  best  families  of  Santiago,  who  have 
controlled  everything,  and,  on  the  whole,  governed  well  and  to  the 
general  satisfaction,  the  more  so  as  no  attempt  was  ever  made  to  sup- 
press the  farce  of  universal  suffrage,  which  amuses  the  people  if  it 
does  not  convince  them  of  their  so-called  sovereignty.  The  outgoing 
President  has  invariably  named  his  successor,  and  brought  all  the  nec- 
essary machinery  into  play  to  secure  his  election.  The  great  point 
at  issue  in  Chili,  as  indeed  it  is  the  great  point  in  all  the  South 
American  republics,  is  whether  or  not  the  President  shall  continue  to 
wield  the  enormous  power  which  the  Constitution  gives  him,  and 
whether  or  not  his  intervention  in  electoral  matters  shall  cease;  in 
short,  whether  republican  institutions,  representative  government,  and 
local  autonomy  shall  become  a reality  in  these  countries,  and  not  a 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


129 


mere  illusory  programme.  Roughly  speaking,  the  political  parties  in 
Chili  are  the  Conservatives,  who  are  now  identified  with  clericalism, 
and  the  Liberals,  who  demand  great  liberality  in  all  matters  of  creed 
and  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Constitution.  There  is  also  a small 
and  talented  radical  party,  forming  the  advanced  guard  of  the  Liber- 
als, but  not  differing  from  the  latter  on  any  questions  except  those  of 
opportunity.  President  Balmaceda  has  had  the  rare  privilege,  which 
has  not  fallen  to  the  lot  of  any  of  his  predecessors,  to  have  made  him- 
self exceedingly  unpopular  by  his  individualist  pretensions  and  his 
obstinate  refusal  to  bend  in  conformity  with  the  opinion  of  the  legis- 
lative body ; and  the  consequence  is  that  both  Liberals  and  Conserv- 
atives are  united  in  a strong  majority  against  the  jefe  supremo , as  the 
President  is  called,  and  some  notable  reform  of  the  Constitution  seems 
imminent.  Let  us  hope  that  the  people  will  be  ready  to  take  advan- 
tage of  their  new  powers,  and  be  able  to  exercise  them  wisely. 

A point  on  which  the  Chilian  radicals  express  strong  views  is  the 
large  surplus  that  the  Treasury  holds,  and  to  diminish  which  vain 
efforts  are  being  made  by  expenditure  on  schools,  railways,  arma- 
ments, and  public  works.  Among  South  American  republics  Chili 
has  the  rare  privilege  of  being  not  only  solvent,  but  also  of  having  ex- 
cellent credit.  According  to  M.  Leroy  Beaulieu’s  classification  of  the 
credit  of  nations  into  seven  categories,  corresponding  to  the  interest 
and  type  of  their  loans,  Chili  comes  in  the  third  category,  and  stands 
on  a level  with  France.  This  state  of  affairs  is  thoroughly  satisfac- 
tory. The  radicals,  however,  consider  the  present  considerable  sur- 
plus to  be  a danger  to  the  country  so  long  as  the  Constitution  and 
the  powers  of  the  President  remain  unmodified.  The  idea  is  that  the 
disposal  of  these  funds  facilitates  the  efforts  of  the  Government  to 
tamper  with  electoral  matters  by  direct  or  indirect  bribery.  Too 
much  importance,  however,  must  not  be  attached  to  these  political 
questions;  none  of  them  is  likely  to  interfere  with  the  tranquillity  and 
peaceful  development  of  the  country,  for  Chili  has  long  outgrown  the 
period  of  dictators  and  revolutions,  and  her  political  evolution  must 
henceforward  be  always  constitutional  and  never  violent.  On  the 
other  hand,  this  evolution  is  not  likely  to  be  very  rapid. 

A great  item  of  expenditure,  provided  for  out  of  the  nitrate  royal- 
ties, is  the  extension  of  the  Chilian  railway  system.  At  present  the 
lines  belonging  to  and  managed  by  the  State  are  those  between  San- 
tiago and  Valparaiso,  with  a branch  to  Los  Andes,  and  from  Santiago 

9 I 


130 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


to  Talcahuano,  with  branches  to  Palmilla,  Los  Angeles,  Traiguen, 
and  Collipulli,  measuring  in  all  1068  kilometres.  In  1888  these  lines 
represented  a value  of  $49,911,073  Chilian,  and  gave  a clear  profit  of 
$1,599,886,  or  3.1 1 per  cent,  on  the  capital.  They  carried  within  the 
year  3,016,313  passengers,  a figure  almost  equal  to  that  of  the  total 
population  of  the  republic,  which  is  estimated  at  3,165,000,  of  whom 
50,000  are  Indians.  This  number,  considering  how  vast  Chili  is  and 
how  thjnly  it  is  populated,  is  worthy  of  notice,  and  to  be  accounted 
for  to  a great  extent  by  the  natural  restlessness  of  the  people ; the 
lower  classes  especially  are  always  travelling  by  railway  or  steamer; 
any  pretext  is  sufficient  to  send  a whole  family  off  with  beds  and  bag- 
gage to  a fresh  place.  In  addition  to  the  above  lines  the  State  has 
purchased  the  line  from  Chanaral  to  Animas  and  Salados,  65^  kilome- 
tres. Then  we  have  the  following  private  lines,  beginning  from  the 
north:  Arica  to  Tacna,  63  kilometres;  the  nitrate  railways  and 
branches  between  Iquique  and  Pisagua,  300  kilometres ; Patillos  to 
Salitreras,  93  kilometres  ; Mejillones  to  the  Cerro  Gordo  mine,  29 
kilometres;  Antofagasta  to  Ascotan  and  Huanchaca,  440  kilometres; 
Taltal  to  Cachiyuyal,  82  kilometres;  Caldera  to  Copiapo  and  branches 
to  Puquios,  San  Antonio,  and  Chanarcillo,  242  kilometres;  Carrizal 
Bajo  to  Carrizal  Alto  and  Cerro  Blanco  mine,  81  kilometres;  Co- 
quimbo  to  Serena,  15  kilometres;  Coquimbo  to  Ovalle  and  Panulcillo, 
123  kilometres;  Serena  to  Vicuna,  78  kilometres;  Tongoi  to  Tamaya, 
55  kilometres;  Laraquete,  in  the  bay  of  Arauco,  to  Maquegna,  40  kilo- 
metres ; making  a total  of  1611  kilometres.  There  are  also  short  lines 
in  the  coal  districts  of  Coronel,  Lota,  Lebu,  etc.,  and  the  line  of  the 
Arauco  Company  from  Concepcion  to  Curanilahue,  which,  when  com- 
pleted, will  measure  66  kilometres.  Some  twelve  other  private  lines, 
all  in  the  mineral  and  nitrate  zone,  are  being  studied  or  constructed, 
and  the  State,  by  means  of  the  Bernstein  and  subcontracts,  is  building 
lines  from  Huasco  to  Vallenar,  Ovalle  to  San  Marcos,  Vilos  to  Sala- 
manca, Calera  to  Ligua  and  Cabildo,  Santiago  to  Melipilla,  Pelequen 
to  Peumo,  Palmilla  to  Ancones,  Talca  to  Constitucion,  Coihue  to  Mul- 
chen,  Victoria  to  Tolten,  Tolten  to  Valdivia  and  Osorno,  all  to  be  fin- 
ished within  periods  of  from  two  to  five  years,  dating  from  November, 
1888,  and  making  a total  of  nearly  1000  kilometres.  Meanwhile, 
among  the  great  private  lines  in  construction  are  Clark’s  transandine, 
by  way  of  Los  Andes,  the  Uspallata  Pass,  and  Mendoza,  which  will  put 
Valparaiso  and  Buenos  Ayres  in  direct  communication,  and  the  Ferro- 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


131 

Carril  Interoceanico,  between  Buenos  Ayres  and  Talcahuano,  of  which 
the  concessionnaires  are  Francisco  Bustamante  & Co.  This  line,  ac- 
cording to  the  plans  I saw,  has  a total  length  of  1412  kilometres. 
Starting  from  Buenos  Ayres,  it  passes  through  the  heart  of  the  rich 
province  of  the  same  name,  touches  a point  in  communication  with 
the  port  of  Bahia  Blanca  at  Carhue,  and  so  through  the  pampa  and 
the  towns  of  General  Acha,  Chadileuvu,  Rio  Colorado,  and  Rio  Neu- 
quen,  then  over  the  Andes  by  the  Antuco  Pass  at  a height  of  2000 
metres  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  so  down  to  Yumbel,  where  it 
joins  the  Chilian  State  lines.  The  construction  of  this  line  has  been 
begun  on  the  Chilian  side,  but  the  Argentine  section  is  still  at  the 
time  of  writing  only  a project.  Another  line,  called  the  Ferro-Carril 
Trasandino  del  Norte,  is  projected,  to  run  from  Copiapo,  in  Chili,  to 
Cordoba,  in  the  Argentine,  and  to  bring  the  port  of  Caldera  into  com- 
munication with  those  of  Rosario,  Santa  Fe,  and  Buenos  Ayres,  pass- 
ing through  the  provinces  of  San  Juan,  La  Rioja,  and  Catamarca. 
The  Chilian  Government  has  already  granted  the  concession  for  this 
line,  which  will  doubtless  be  built  in  the  course  of  time,  and  certainly 
prove  to  be  of  the  highest  commercial  importance. 

After  the  capital,  the  city  that  plays  the  greatest  role  in  Chilian 
urban  life  is  Valparaiso,  which  consists  of  a blue  bay  very  danger- 
ously exposed  to  the  north  winds,  a vast  sweep  of  quays,  three  parallel 
streets,  and  at  the  back  an  amphitheatre  of  hills  covered  with  houses 
— hills  of  red- brown  rock  and  earth  rising  to  a lofty  ridge,  whose 
aridity  is  rendered  more  evident  by  a scant  mantle  of  black  scrub. 
The  houses  are  built  on  the  spurs  of  this  ridge,  called  cerros , three  of 
which  are  built  over  with  decent  villas,  enlivened  with  gardens,  trees, 
and  verandas,  commanding  a magnificent  view  of  the  bay.  The  other 
cerros  are  inhabited  by  the  poorer  classes,  who  dwell  in  sheds  and 
shanties  built  of  all  kinds  of  old  lumber,  fragments,  and  debris,  such  as 
sardine-boxes,  oil-cans  flattened  out,  lead  out  of  tea-chests,  broken 
trunks,  wreckage  of  ships  and  railway  cars — the  whole  patched  up 
with  sacks  and  sheets  of  corrugated  iron.  The  very  road  up  the  cerro 
is  a rickety  piece  of  patchwork  held  together  with  boards  and  cross 
timbers.  The  cerros  where  the  foreigners  live  are  provided  with  de- 
cent roads,  and  many  of  the  villas  are  commodious,  pleasant,  and  ele- 
gantly furnished.  The  business  town  below  is  not  remarkable  for  its 
architectural  monuments.  Indeed,  almost  the  only  monument  is  that 
to  the  memory  of  the  hero  of  the  war  against  Peru  and  Bolivia,  the 


132 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


hero  of  Iquique,  as  he  is  call- 
ed, Arturo  Prat  and  his  com- 
panions. Valparaiso  is  a busi- 
ness town  ; its  streets  are  well 
provided  with  fine  shops ; but 
the  shops  are  in  a minority 
compared  with  the  offices, 
banks,  warehouses,  and  mer- 
chants' establishments.  The 

the  arturo  prat  monument,  Valparaiso.  Por^  provided  \\  ith  a land- 

ing-place  for  passengers,  who 
come  ashore  in  small  boats, 
and  with  a fine  mole,  called  the  Muelle  Fiscal,  provided  with  excellent 
hydraulic  machinery  for  hauling  trucks  and  working  cranes.  This 
mole,  however,  is  inadequate  for  the  traffic  of  the  port,  and  conse- 
quently all  the  loading  of  cargo  is  executed  by  means  of  lighters,  the 
quay  being  used  only  for  unloading  ships  with  cargo  from  foreign 
parts.  The  quays  are  formed  by  a sea-wall,  strengthened  by  old  iron 
railway  rails,  which  are  put  to  most  varied  uses  in  Chili ; and  the  fine 
semi  circle  is  now  being  extended  towards  the  north,  much  land  being 
gained  from  the  sea  and  filled  in,  so  as  to  give  the  city  room  for  ex- 
pansion. Near  the  Muelle  Fiscal  are  the  immense  buildings  of  the 
Custom-house  and  bonded  warehouses ; on  the  top  of  the  hill,  the 
military  school ; and  then  beyond,  along  the  cornice  road,  forts,  navy 
store-rooms,  and  a light-house.  From  this  point  may  be  viewed  the 
admirable  panorama  of  the  town  climbing  up  the  hills,  terrace  above 
terrace;  the  bay,  with  its  torpedoes,  iron-clads,  steamers,  sailing  ships, 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


133 


and  busy  shoals  of  lighters  and  small  boats ; and  the  distant  boun- 
dary hills  that  close  in  the  glistening  bay,  and  stretch  their  jagged 
promontories  into  the  calm  blue  waters  of  the  Pacific. 

Valparaiso,  the  port  of  Santiago,  and  the  principal  port  of  the  re- 
public, is  quite  an  English  city.  “ The  Chilians  will  not  be  pleased  to 
read  that  statement,”  suggests  a friend  at  my  elbow.  “ Can  it  be  de- 
nied ?”  I ask.  “ Is  not  the  whole  aspect  of  the  place  English  ? Is  not 
the  bay  full  of  English  ships  ? Do  you  not  hear  English  spoken  ev- 
erywhere as  soon  as  you  get  ashore  ? Do  not  the  public-houses  bear 
the  familiar  old  sign-boards  of  the  ‘ Royal  Oak,’  the  * Queen’s  Arms,’  the 
‘Red  Lion,’  ‘All  the  World’s  Corner?’  Here  is  the  suave  English 
chemist,  whose  speech  is  so  precise  ; English  booksellers,  three  or  four 
of  them  with  fine  shops ; English  doctors  by  the  dozen ; English  gro- 
cers, who  sell  bacon  and  pickles,  and  style  themselves  ‘ Italian  ware- 
housemen,’ according  to  the  classical  tradition  of  their  guild ; English 
shop-keepers  of  all  kinds ; English  hotels,  and,  of  course,  an  English 
newspaper.  What  are  all  those  tall  and  slender  girls,  with  blond  hair, 
queer  hats,  loosely  fitting  dresses,  a rather  ungraceful  although  athletic 
walk,  an  incomparably  fine  quality  of  rose-and-white  flesh,  such  as  Rey- 
nolds— Sir  Joshua,  I should  say — loved  to  paint,  are  they  not  unmis- 
takably English  girls?  Up  there  on  the  hill  do  I not  spy  an  English 
church  ? All  these  business  blocks,  house  after  house,  are  not  the  firms 
English,  with  an  intermixture  of  German  ? If  you  take  away  the  English 
firms  from  Valparaiso,  what  remains  ?”  “ True,”  replied  my  friend.  “ It 
is  quite  true.”  “ I will  even  go  further,  and  ask  wThat  is  left  of  Chili  if 
you  take  the  foreigners  aw'ay,  particularly  the  English  and  the  Ger- 
mans ?”  “ Good  gracious  ! I hope  you  are  not  going  to  put  these  fear- 

ful ideas  into  print.  You  alarm  me.”  “What  will  you?”  I replied. 
“A  stranger  visiting  Chili  for  the  first  time,  and  imagining  vaguely 
that  it  is  some  far-away  and  delightful  Paul  and  Virginia  country — as 
it  truly  is — a country  of  great  wealth  and  beauty,  vast  in  extent,  varied 
in  aspect,  and  still  full  of  the  energy  and  chivalry  of  the  conquistci- 
dores , is  surprised  to  find  that  the  descendants  of  the  conquistadores 
are  very  few  in  number,  relatively,  to  the  extent  of  their  territory  and 
the  age  of  their  settlement.  He  is  struck,  above  all  things,  by  the 
prominence  and  ubiquity  of  foreigners  in  the  practical  management 
and  organization  of  the  great  business  enterprises,  and  even  of  the 
great  private  fortunes  of  the  land.  You,  who  are  living  here,  do  not 
notice  the  phenomenon  so  much  as  one  who  has  arrived  freshly.  For 


134 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


instance,  we  will  suppose  you  come  to  Chili  by  way  of  the  Strait  of 
Magalhaens.  In  Tierra  del  Fuego  you  are  astonished  to  find  a sta- 
tion of  English  missionaries,  who  have  taught  the  Indians  to  be  kind 
to  shipwrecked  mariners,  and  not  to  eat  them  as  they  formerly  did. 
In  Punta  Arenas  the  great  sheep-farming  enterprises  are  in  the  hands 
of  Englishmen.  Valdivia  is  simply  a German  colony,  the  most  flour- 
ishing and  charming  in  the  republic,  troubled  only  by  too  numerous 
bands  of  cattle-lifters  and  brigands,  who  also  plague  the  English, 
French,  and  Swiss  colonies  in  the  old  Araucanian  territory.  Now  we 
come  to  the  coal  coast,  and  the  first  proprietors  we  find  are  the 
‘Arauco  Company,  Limited,  London,’  also  owners  of  a railway,  at  the 
hands  of  whose  English  managers  I received  kind  hospitality.  The 
Lota  and  Coronel  mines  belong  to  Chilians — the  Cousino  family — but 
the  managers  are  all  English.  The  managers  of  the  Cousino  agricult- 
ural estates  are  likewise  English.  In  Talcahuano  and  Concepcion  all 
the  business  on  a large  scale  is  done  by  English  or  Germans.  The  rail- 
way from  Talcahuano  to  Santiago  and  Valparaiso  was  built  by  Eng- 
lish engineers ; many  of  the  higher  employes  are  English  ; so,  too,  are 
a majority  of  the  engine-drivers.  All  the  State  railways,  be  it  remem- 
bered, were  paid  for  almost  exclusively  with  the  money  obtained  from 
British  loans.  Valparaiso  is  incontestably  English.  In  the  mining 
districts  Englishmen  and  English  capital  predominate. 

“In  Taltal  and  the  neighboring  nitrate  beds  and  gold  and  silver 
mines  the  English  and  the  Germans  are  working  hand  in  hand,  the 
former  having  provided  the  capital.  Antofagasta  is  controlled  by 
English  capital  and  management.  Tarapaca  is  almost  wholly  an 
English  province,  owned  by  London  joint-stock  companies.  You  can- 
not land  at  a single  port  of  any  importance  along  the  Chilian  coast 
without  finding  a little  group  of  Anglo-Saxons  who  are  making  or 
trying  to  make  their  fortunes.  Every  little  port  has  its  ‘ king,'  its  great 
man,  who  controls  business  there,  and  has  a finger  in  all  sorts  of  pies. 
And  how  often  does  this  ‘king' — your  Don  Alfredo,  Don  Juan,  or 
Don  Julio — prove  to  be  a stalwart  Englishman  with  a very  red  face 
and  a violent  hatred  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  or  a gigantic  Teuton  of  the 
Fortschrittspartei,  who  weeps  on  your  bosom  when  he  speaks  of  Bis- 
marck’s retirement?  In  those  queer  little  wooden  towns  in  the  north, 
where  all  the  houses  smell  close  and  acrid,  like  an  attic  bedroom 
under  sunburned  rafters,  you  invariably  find  two  or  three  pleasant 
and  well-kept  houses,  and  genial  meetings  of  an  evening,  when  the 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


135 


Spatenbrau  flows  freely,  and  those  hearty  and  accomplished  Teutons 
play  Beethoven,  Schumann,  and  Strauss,  while  the  English  gentleman 
who  manages  the  railway  looks  on  through  his  eye-glass,  correct  and 
reserved  in  manner,  just  as  he  would  be  if  he  were  sitting  in  the 
smoking-room  of  the  Reform  Club  or  the  Travellers’.  Where  are 
the  Chilians?  They,  too,  abound,  but  are  less  prominent,  at  any  rate 
in  what  the  French  call  the  extractive  industries.  The  Chilians  have 
their  vast  agricultural  estates,  their  vineyards— managed  invariably  by 
French  or  Italians — their  mines,  too,  and  their  interest  in  various  en- 
terprises. There  are  fine  business  heads  among  them,  remarkable 
intellects,  able  financiers,  and  large  fortunes.  Errazuriz,  Urmeneta, 
Brown,  Edwards,  Matte,  Cousino,  and  a score  other  names  could  be 


W 1 . 'V  Ki  VO  * I.  r ; - * • 4 > 


THE  PASSENGER  MOLE,  VALPARAISO. 


mentioned  in  connection  with  great  and  stable  wealth,  but  for  some 
reason  or  another  it  would  appear  that  the  Chilians  have  not  studied 
business  investments  for  their  money  until  quite  lately.  Their  natural 
temperament,  perhaps,  inclines  them  to  passive  enjoyment ; they  are 
satisfied  with  the  easy  and  indolent  life  of  Santiago,  and  the  mild  ex- 
citement of  a little  card-playing  for  heavy  stakes.  Enormous  fortunes 
have  been  made  by  Chilians  in  mines,  but  most  of  these  have  been 
dissipated  as  soon  as  acquired,  and  not  a few  have  found  their  way 
to  Paris  and  Monte  Carlo,  where  their  reckless  spenders  have  con- 
tributed to  create  the  composite  and  imaginary  type  known  by  the 
name  of  rastacouere.  Now  we  know  that  these  unregenerate  days  are 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


over,  and  that  the  Chilians  are  going  to  do  wonderful  things,  and  be- 
come a great  nation,  and  ultimately  make  Chili  an  industrial  country, 
they  say,  like  England,  Switzerland,  and  the  German  provinces  of  the 
Rhine,  in  the  realization  of  which  aspirations  foreign  immigration  and 
the  completion  of  interior  and  transandine  railways  are  to  play  a great 
role.  At  present,  however,  this  grand  and  self-sufficing  national  de- 
velopment is  more  or  less  remote,  and  meanwhile  it  must  be  admitted, 
in  presence  of  incontestable  evidence,  that  English  capital  and  Eng- 
lish initiative  are  the  chief  agents  in  opening  up  and  utilizing  the 
riches  of  Chili.” 

But  what  have  the  Chilians  been  doing,  we  may  ask,  all  these  long 
years  since  Pedro  de  Valdivia  founded  their  capital  350  summers 
ago  ? How  does  it  happen  that  this  enormous  territory,  measuring 
753,216  square  kilometres,  and  consequently  larger  than  any  Euro- 
pean country  except  Russia,  has  a population  of  only  three  millions 
and  odd  ? The  natural  increase  in  the  course  of  three  centuries 
ought  surely  to  have  produced  a greater  total.  The  only  explanation 
that  we  can  suggest  is  the  terrible  infant  mortality.  From  the  begin- 
ning, we  may  presume,  the  lower  classes  have  lived  in  the  same  unhy- 
gienic conditions  which  may  still  be  observed  ; and  from  the  beginning 
the  majority  of  the  children  born  have  died  in  infancy,  as  they  do  at 
the  present  day,  and  as  they  will  doubtless  continue  to  die  for  many 
years  to  come  in  spite  of  the  wider  dissemination  of  primary  educa- 
tion. The  Chilian  peon  loves  his  hut  of  mud  and  cane.  His  women 
folk,  true  to  the  blood  of  their  Indian  progenitors,  disdain  chairs,  and 
delight  only  in  squatting  on  the  earth.  And  the  peon  and  his  wife 
alike  prefer  to  buy  of  the  squatting  open-air  dealers  rather  than  to 
patronize  a clean  and  well -arranged  shop.  A proof  of  this  may  be 
seen  on  the  quay  at  Valparaiso,  where  the  Chola  women,  with  patches 
of  sticking-plaster  on  their  temples,  leaves  in  their  ear-holes,  and  melon 
seeds  stuck  in  their  nostrils — queer  traditional  nostrums  for  the  cure 
of  real  or  imaginary  ills — still  spread  out  their  wares  in  the  dust,  and 
get  all  the  popular  custom,  although  there  are  good  modern  stores 
just  across  the  way.  What  influence  education  will  have  on  these 
peones  it  is  hard  to  say,  and  President  Balmaceda  himself  has  perhaps 
not  thought  of  the  future  in  his  zeal  for  building  fine  school-houses. 
As  it  is,  the  peon  is  an  excellent  miner,  though  he  does  pocket  the 
choicest  bits  of  gold  and  silver  ore.  He  is  an  indefatigable  worker 
at  agriculture  or  anything  else,  very  docile  when  treated  justly,  and 


URBAN  AND  COMMERCIAL  CHILI. 


137 


easily  manageable  when  handled  in  the  right  way.  He  has  his  faults 
and  his  shortcomings,  but  withal  he  is  by  no  means  wanting  in  in- 
telligence, and  when  the  socialists  begin  to  preach  in  the  land  they 
will  certainly  find  him  an  apt  disciple.  Then  there  will  be  a fine  up- 
setting of  things  in  general,  and  of  the  existing  white  oligarchy  in 
particular. 

The  Chilian  peones,  especially  the  more  intelligent  miscellaneous 
workers,  known  as  rotos , or  ragged  men,  are  truly  wonderful  creatures 
for  strength  and  endurance,  and  no  European  can  compete  with  them. 
To  see  them  working  in  the  mines  is  most  curious.  Half  naked,  they 
run  along  the  low  galleries,  scramble  up  a notched  pole,  and  then  up 
the  ragged  rock  stairs  of  the  old  Spanish  crooked  shafts,  all  the  time 
carrying  a hundred  -weight  of  ore  in  a leather  pouch  slung  on  their 
shoulders.  When  they  reach  the  top  they  just  shrug  their  shoulder, 
the  ore  falls  on  the  ground,  and  they  remain  a few  seconds  gasping 
for  breath,  and  then,  all  of  a sudden,  they  run  down  the  mine  again, 
whistling  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  And  so  they  work  nine  or 
ten  hours  a day.  So  it  is  with  stevedores  in  the  Chilian  ports,  also 
rotos.  These  men  have  immense  physical  strength,  disdain  all  me- 
chanical help,  and  carry  enormous  weights,  always  on  their  heads  and 
shoulders.  Both  the  miners  and  the  stevedores  are  like  overgrown 
children  in  the  government  of  their  lives.  What  one  does  the  others 
do  ; and  with  fair  words  they  can  be  led  to  do  anything,  except  to 
work  when  they  think  they  have  worked  enough.  Then  it  is  useless 
to  offer  them  more  dollars.  They  have  as  many  dollars  as  they  want 
for  the  moment,  and  so  they  say,  “ No  quiero  trabajar  mas,  patron,”  in 
the  most  friendly  way  possible,  and  an  hour  later  all  of  them  are 
drunk  and  dancing  furious  cuecas.  Thus  they  all  work  by  fits  and 
starts,  spend  their  earnings  to  the  last  cent,  and  never  look  to  the 
future.  When  a roto  gets  old,  which  rarely  happens,  for  bad  liquor, 
heart-disease,  and  pulmonia  carry  most  of  them  off  in  the  prime  of 
life,  or  when  he  is  no  longer  able  to  work,  he  goes  and  lives  with  a 
more  prosperous  brother,  for  all  these  rotos  are  compadres  and  tocallos , 
or  namesakes,  and  full  of  kindly  feeling  towards  each  other,  except 
when  they  quarrel  at  times,  draw  knives,  and  use  them.  The  rotos , 
however,  are  now  emigrating  in  large  numbers  to  the  Argentine, 
where  they  get  better  wages  than  the  father-land  pays,  and  so  Chili  is 
losing  some  of  her  best  workinsf-men. 

In  conclusion,  I say,  with  grateful  souvenirs  of  the  unfailing  kind- 


138 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


ness  shown  to  me  in  all  parts  of  the  country,  that  the  Chilians  are 
pleasant  and  agreeable  people  to  deal  with  and  to  live  among.  Their 
land  is  full  of  natural  beauties  and  mineral  wealth.  The  climate  is 
perfect,  except  in  the  extreme  south,  where  it  is  severe  in  winter,  but 
less  so  than  the  north  of  Scotland  or  the  extreme  zone  of  the  United 
States ; and  of  all  the  places  where  a man  could  go  to  settle  away 
from  the  father-land,  Chili  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  favored  in  cer- 
tain respects.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  difficult  to  foresee  for  Chili  a 
very  much  greater  development  in  wealth  and  in  civilization  than  that 
already  achieved,  the  former  being  precarious,  inasmuch  as  it  depends 
upon  mineral  riches  of  uncertain  duration,  and  the  latter  being  super- 
ficial and  imitative  rather  than  sincere.  The  Chilians  have  remark- 
able facility  and  singular  faculties  of  imitation  and  adaptability.  But 
they  are  not  griindlich,  as  the  Germans  say.  They  are  pleasant,  hos- 
pitable people,  having  a certain  outward  semblance  of  refinement;  but 
it  is  preferable  not  to  probe  the  surface  too  deeply. 

As  regards  colonization,  serious  reserves  are  to  be  made,  for  the 
reasons  indicated  in  a previous  article.  At  present  I am  speak- 
ing not  so  much  of  Chili  as  a haven  of  rest  for  the  humble  aeri- 
cultural  laborer,  but  rather  as  a field  for  the  merchant,  the  business 
man,  and  the  capitalist,  and  more  especially  for  the  North  American 
capitalist.  The  ground  is  already  very  much  taken  up,  it  is  true. 
English  capital  and  German  trading  enterprise  have  implanted  them- 
selves far  and  wide  over  the  territory;  but  there  is  still  plenty  of 
room  for  young  men  commanding  a certain  amount  of  capital  who 
would  be  content  to  go  to  Chili,  learn  the  language,  study  the  people 
and  their  ways,  and  simply  live  quietly,  wait  and  watch  until  they  saw 
their  chance  of  getting  into  the  “swim."  In  the  mining  business,  par- 
ticularly gold,  silver,  and  manganese,  and  perhaps  coal  in  the  extreme 
south,  there  are  no  doubt  fortunes  to  be  made.  For  that  matter,  the 
mineral  deposits  of  Chili  contain  every  known  metal.  All  that  is 
needed  for  success  is  capital,  energy,  patience,  and  good-luck.  There 
is  much  to  be  done  also  in  public  works,  not  only  railways,  but  moles, 
docks,  and  harbor  works.  Finally,  there  would  seem  to  be  room  for 
banking  establishments,  both  metropolitan  and  provincial,  the  profits 
of  the  existing  public  and  private  banks  being  unusually  large.  The 
Bank  of  Valparaiso,  for  instance,  paid  a dividend  of  18  per  cent,  in 
1889,  with  $1,000,000  in  its  reserve  fund,  and  the  provincial  Bank  of 
Concepcion  a dividend  of  16  per  cent. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


COAL-MINING  IN  CHILL 


HILE  travelling  in  the  Chilian  agricultural  zone  I made  a 


point  of  visiting  the  coal  district  which  lies  along  the  coast, 
and,  as  luck  would  have  it,  made  the  trip  in  pleasant  company.  One 
evening  at  Concepcion  I was  spending  an  hour  in  the  fencing-school 
of  Professor  X.,  who  had  recently  arrived  from  France  and  established 
himself  in  a most  unexpected  manner  in  that  Southern  capital — who 
would  have  thought  of  finding  a French  fencing-master  in  a provin- 
cial town  in  Chili? — when  a boy  came  from  the  hotel  to  tell  me  that 
I was  wanted  at  the  telephone. 

“ Holloa!  holloa!”  I cried  against  the  vibrator.  “Con  quien  hablo ?” 
“ Don  Ricardo,”  replied  a well-known  voice. 

“What?  Don  Ricardo?  Are  you  talking  from  Talcahuano?” 

“ Yes.  I am  at  the  club.  We  have  been  dining  together,  the 
consul,  Don  Julio,  and  myself.  We  want  to  go  to  Lota  with  you.” 

“ Bueno , amigo ,”  I replied;  “ con  mucho  gusto.  Come  up  by  the 
eight  o’clock  express  in  the  morning,  and  I will  be  at  the  station.” 

“ All  right.  Good-night!” 

“ Good-night !” 

The  gentlemen  in  question  were  a member  of  the  Chilian  Cham- 
ber of  Deputies,  the  consul  of  a great  European  power,  and  a Cornish- 
man  who  has  become  a Chileno  by  length  of  residence.  This  matter 
having  been  thus  arranged,  I went  to  look  up  the  engineer  of  the 
Arauco  Railway  Company,  to  ask  him  to  oblige  us  by  placing  at  our 
disposal  a hand-car  to  cross  the  famous  long  bridge  - over  the  Bio-Bio 
River ; for  at  that  time,  although  completed,  this  section  of  the  line 
was  awaiting  the  very  tardy  approval  of  the  Chilian  Government  of- 
ficials. My  request  was  promptly  granted,  and  I retired  to  rest,  always 
a little  surprised  to  reflect  that  these  telephonic  and  other  incidents 
were  happening  in  latitude  36°  50'  south. 

The  following  morning  I met  my  three  friends  at  the  railway  sta- 
tion and  conducted  them  to  the  hand-car,  and  so  we  started  gayly,  and 


140 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


passed  the  Bio-Bio  bridge  with  interest,  for  it  measures  1864  metres, 
and  is,  I believe,  the  longest  bridge  in  the  world,  except  those  over 
the  Tay  and  the  Forth,  and  a wooden  bridge  over  the  Oxus,  built  by 
General  Annenkoff.  It  comprises  sixty-two  spans,  carried  on  pairs  of 
tubular  columns,  the  conical  bases  of  which  have  been  driven  deep 
into  the  sandy  bed  of  the  stream.  At  the  end  of  the  bridge  we  found 
ourselves  at  San  Pedro,  a little  encampment  composed  of  cane  huts  and 
sheds,  with  corrugated  iron  roofs.  One  of  these  sheds  formed  the 
railway  station,  and  another  was  dignified  by  the  name  of  “ restaurant.” 
As  the  train  for  Lota  did  not  start  for  an  hour,  we  directed  our  steps 
towards  the  restaurant,  intending  to  breakfast.  But  to  my  astonish- 
ment the  Deputy  suggested  champagne  and  bitters  to  begin  with,  and 
the  proprietor  of  the  restaurant  without  hesitation  produced  two 
half-bottles  of  real  Heidsieck,  whereupon  I declared  Chili  to  be  truly  a 
wonderful  country.  Were  we  not  on  the  edge  of  a wilderness,  in  the 
province  of  Arauco,  in  the  territory  recently  held  by  the  indomitable 
Indians?  Was  not  this  restaurant  a mere  shanty?  Why  these  un- 
expected evidences  of  extreme  civilization  ? My  friends  assured  me 
that  such  is  the  normal  condition  of  modern  Chili,  and  with  this  ex- 
planation I remained  satisfied  and  breakfasted  in  peace. 

The  line  on  which  we  were  travelling  belongs  to  English  capital- 
ists. It  is  called  the  Arauco  Company  (Limited),  and  will  run  from 
Concepcion  to  Los  Rios  de  Curanilahue,  a distance  of  96  kilometres, 
carrying  goods  and  passengers,  but  principally  coal.  The  company 
owns  a coal-bed,  through  which  the  line  passes,  beginning  at  kilometre 
66,  and  continuing  to  the  end  of  the  line,  a distance  of  30  kilometres. 
The  journey  offers  no  particular  interest,  as  far  as  concerns  scenery. 
The  land  is  arid,  and  produces  only  scrub  and  low  thorn-trees,  good 
for  making  charcoal ; there  is  no  irrigation,  and  therefore  no  agricult- 
ure, until  we  reach  Coronel,  on  the  bay  of  Arauco,  and  a little  beyond 
Coronel,  Lota,  with  its  verdant  woods  climbing  up  the  hill-side,  and 
contrasting  strangely  with  the  smoking  chimney-stacks  and  the  barren 
coast  around.  The  oasis  is,  however,  entirely  artificial ; it  is  the  park 
of  Lota  surrounding  the  elegant  chateau  which  Senora  Cousino  is 
now  building  for  herself  on  the  bluff  that  commands  a view  of  the 
Pacific,  of  the  bay,  and  of  the  vast  establishments  owned  by  the 
Cousino  family  along  the  shore. 

We  are  here  in  the  heart  of  the  Chilian  coal  district.  Lota  is  the 
place  where  the  first  coal  was  obtained  when  Don  Matias  Cousino 


LOTA — THE  SMELTING-WORKS  AN1)  MOLE. 


COAL-MINING  IN  CHILI. 


143 


established  the  industry  in  1855.  At  the  beginning  some  difficulty 
was  experienced  in  introducing  the  coal  into  the  market,  there  being 
a prejudice  against  it  on  account  of  the  quality.  Lota  coal  is  15  to 
20  per  cent,  inferior  to  English  steam  coal ; it  is  a substance  between 
lignite  and  true  coal,  and  belongs  to  the  lower  tertiary  formation.  In 
the  Lota  district  the  coal  seams  lie  principally  under  the  sea,  but  far- 
ther south  they  are  found  more  inland.  The  limits  of  this  coal-bed 
are  Tome,  in  Concepcion  Bay,  on  the  north,  and  Canete  on  the  south, 
the  whole  length  of  the  Chilian  coal-field  being  about  one  hundred 
miles.  The  stratifications  all  incline  towards  the  west.  At  Lota  there 
are  three  workable  seams.  The  first  seam  is  about  one  metre  thick, 
then  comes  a layer  of  shale ' and  sandstone  thirty-five  metres  thick, 
with  below  it  the  second  seam,  also  about  a metre  thick,  and  then 
below  another  nine-metre  layer  of  shale  and  sandstone  comes  the 
third  and  finest  seam,  1.60  metres  in  thickness.  The  best  Lota  coal 
is  extracted  from  below  the  sea,  where  the  quality  is  more  regular  and 
the  seams  have  fewer  faults.  The  greatest  depth  of  the  submarine 
galleries  is  280  metres. 

Five  pits  are  now  being  worked  by  the  Cousino  Company,  with  a 
daily  output  of  from  800  to  1000  tons,  and  an  annual  production  of 
180,000  to  220,000  tons.  From  1500  to  2000  miners  are  employed; 
they  work  twelve  hours  a day,  and  earn  from  80  cents  to  $1  75,  Chil- 
ian paper  currency.  The  coal-hewers  are  paid  so  much  a truck.  The 
workmen  have  free  lodging  and  free  water  on  the  estate,  each  family 
receiving  two  rooms,  rent  free,  in  good  brick  houses,  constructed  with 
due  regard  to  hygiene.  The  miners’  homes  number  about  four  hun- 
dred, which  gives  an  average  of  two  inmates  for  each  room. 

The  deepest  of  the  pits  has  a vertical  depth  of  280  metres,  and  the 
pit,  which  is  entirely  under  the  sea,  has  a maximum  depth  of  230 
metres,  attained  by  an  inclined  plane  900  metres  long,  up  and  down 
which  the  trucks  are  run  by  means  of  an  endless  chain.  This  pit 
gives  a daily  output  of  350  tons,  and  the  head  of  the  inclined  plane, 
which  you  see  sinking  gradually  into  darkness,  is  one  of  the  busiest 
spots  in  Chili,  and  one  of  the  noisiest  also,  for  the  chain  rattles  inces- 
santly, the  trucks  are  swung  up  with  a rush  and  a bang  over  an  iron 
platform,  and  the  empties,  hitched  on  to  the  chain,  are  sent  crashing 
back  again  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  with  terrific  and  deafening 
rapidity.  In  this  submarine  pit  there  is  a good  deal  of  gas  and  fire- 
damp, so  that  the  miners  use  safety-lamps,  but  in  the  vertical  land  pits 


144 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


there  is  very  little  gas,  and  the  men  carry  little  tin  lamps  with  open, 
flaming  wicks,  fixed  on  the  front  of  their  caps.  These  caps  are  made 
of  leather  and  ornamented  with  round-headed  brass  nails  in  the  best 
designs  that  the  owner  can  invent.  One  of  the  characteristic  sights 


of  Lota  is  to  see  the  miners  walking  home  after  nightfall,  in  Indian 
file,  or  in  groups  of  two  or  three,  with  their  lamps  in  their  caps  burn- 
ing brightly  and  suggesting  fire-flies.  Our  illustration  will  give  an 


idea  of  some  of  these  wor- 
thy fellows,  who  are  true 
Chilenos,  having  the  vices 
and  the  qualities  of  the 
race  — intelligence,  im- 
providence, and  intemper- 
ance. About  two -thirds 
of  the  miners  at  Lota  are 
permanent  workers ; the 
remaining  third  work  in 
the  mines  eight  months 
out  of  the  twelve,  and 
during  the  other  four  be- 
come agricultural  hands, 
both  for  the  sake  of  a 
change  and  in  order  to 
profit  by  the  higher  pay 
obtained  in  harvest- time. 
After  the  Christmas  pay- 
day many  of  the  men 
leave  the  mines  and  take 
a change  of  air.  This  fact 
is  an  interesting  proof  of 
the  versatility  of  the  Chil- 
ians; they  can  turn  their 
hands  to  anything.  The 
miners  live  well  and  eat 
soup,  beef,  potatoes,  and  white  bread,  but  they  drink  only  coffee  and 
water  while  they  are  at  work.  This  diet  costs  about  $15  a month,  and 
as  the  average  monthly  earnings  are  $24  to  $25,  the  miner  has  a bal- 
ance of  $9  to  $10  for  clothes,  luxuries,  and  jollification.  They  are 
paid  by  the  month,  and  after  pay-day  they  get  drunk  for  several  days, 


TYPES  OF  MIXERS. 


COAL-MINING  IN  CHILI. 


145 


sing,  and  dance  the  aieca.  Among  the  Lota  miners  you  see  many 
pure  Spanish  types,  and  on  the  whole  there  is  much  less  Indian  blood 
visible  than  there  is  in  the  more  northern  provinces ; and  although 
as  a class  the  Lota  miners  are  far  from  handsome,  still  you  do  occa- 
sionally meet  one  with  regular,  well-formed  features  of  a pronounced 
and  recognizable  type,  whereas  among  the  hybrid  peones  this  is  not 
the  case. 

The  miners  on  the  Lota  establishment  are  well  treated,  and  their 
lot  is  infinitely  preferable  to  that  of  the  average  Chilian  workmen. 
The  mines  are  well  ventilated;  all  the  machinery  for  winding  and 
blowing  is  excellent ; when  the  men  are  sick  a fine  and  charmi  ngly 
situated  hospital  is  ready  to  receive  them  and  treat  them  gratis ; while 
besides  the  four  Government  schools  in  Lota  itself,  there  are  two 
schools  on  the  Cousino  estate,  attended  by  some  200  children.  The 
whole  population  of  Lota,  including  both  the  upper  and  lower  towns, 
is  about  14,000,  and  the  whole  number  of  children  attending  school 
between  500  and  600. 

The  Lota  establishment  is  officially  known  under  the  title  of  the 
Compania  Explotadora  de  Lota  y Coronel,  the  company  having  been 
formed  some  years  ago  by  Don  Luis  Cousino,  son  of  the  founder, 
Don  Matias ; but  all  the  shares  are  owned  by  the  family,  so  that  it  is 
really  equivalent  to  a private  enterprise.  The  clear  profits  for  the 
year  1889  were,  I am  informed,  $1,200,000  Chilian.  The  estate,  run- 
ning in  a narrow  band  along  the  sea-shore,  occupies  a superficies  of 
about  one  square  mile,  and  includes,  besides  the  five  mines  at  Lota 
and  the  Buen  Retiro  Mine  north  of  Coronel,  smelting-works,  glass- 
works, brick-works,  all  provided  with  machinery  and  means  of  trans- 
port, namely,  15  steam-engines,  3 air-compressors,  7 compressed-air 
pumps,  4 locomotives,  several  hundred  trucks,  and  4 kilometres  of 
railway,  which  bring  the  various  departments  into  communication  with 
two  moles  in  Lota  Bay,  one  mole  for  ships  and  the  other  for  lighters. 
The  company  has  four  steamers  of  from  800  to  1200  tons  burden,  and 
several  sailing  ships,  which  carry  coal  north  to  supply  the  Pacific 
ports,  and  return  south  with  a cargo  of  copper  ore  for  the  Lota  smelt- 
ing-works, which  wer.e  established  originally  to  use  up  the  slack  from 
the  mines  at  a time  when  Chili  coal  had  not  yet  obtained  a regular 
market. 

The  smelting-works,  whose  chimneys  are  carried  by  a tunnel  deep 
into  the  hill-side  and  find  an  issue  in  the  two  tall  stacks  that  vomit 


10 


146 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


BAHIA  CHAMBIQUE,  LOTA. 


forth  incessant  volumes  of  yellowish-white  smoke,  beclouding  the  land- 
scape, and  producing  effects  which  would  have  captivated  the  painter 
Turner,  well  repay  a visit.  They  are  the  largest  in  Chili,  and  consist 
of  a long  series  of  brown  sheds  covering  furnaces  from  which  molten 
metal  rolls  forth  in  dazzling  rivulets  of  fire ; heaps  of  ore ; piles  of  bar 
copper;  enormous  blast  pipes  stretching  overhead  from  point  to 
point ; cyclopean  kettles  on  wheels,  otherwise  known  as  converters ; 
trucks  running  to  and  fro;  iron  baskets  full  of  burning  slag  emitting 
sulphurous  vapors  and  feeble  tongues  of  blue  flame.  These  works 
give  employment  to  600  men,  and  when  in  full  swing  they  turn  out 
1000  tons  of  copper  a month,  mostly  by  the  usual  processes  of  fur- 
nace calcination.  There  are  7 furnaces,  of  2^  tons  capacitv  each, 
o treating  the  raw  ore  and  producing  regulus  of  50  per  cent,  cop- 
per. This  regulus  then  requires  to  be  crushed  and  calcined,  for 
which  purpose  there  are  14  calcining  furnaces,  and  finally  9 furnaces 


COAL-MINING  IN  CHILI. 


147 


for  making  bar  copper  of  97  per  cent,  nominal  and  96  per  cent, 
guaranteed. 

Besides  the  usual  smelting  processes,  the  Lota  works  are  begin- 
ning to  employ  the  Manhes  converters,  which  are  the  cyclopean  ket- 
tles noticed  above,  invented  by  David  Manhes,  of  Iquilles,  near  Lyons. 
Three  of  these  Manhes  converters  have  been  in  operation  at  Lota 
since  the  beginning  of  last  year,  and  three  others  are  being  built. 
The  Manhes  converter  is  simply  an  application  of  the  Bessemer  steel 
process  to  the  production  of  bar  copper.  Regulus  containing  50  per 
cent,  copper  is  run  into  the  kettle  hot  from  the  furnace,  then  blast  is 
thrown  on  to  the  mass,  and  after  about  two  hours’  blowing  the  metal 
can  be  run  out  into  bars  of  99^  per  cent,  pure  copper.  The  converter 
dispenses  with  calcination  and  the  other  ordinary  processes  of  convert- 
ing regulus  into  bar  copper,  which  is  a matter  of  some  thirty-six 
hours ; it  economizes  time,  labor,  and  fuel,  and  produces  a purer  and 
richer  copper.  On  the  other  hand,  it  requires  great  care  and  atten- 
tion, for  if  the  regulus  is  overblown  or  underblown  the  result  is  com- 
promised. There  seems,  too,  to  be  considerable  difficulty  in  keeping 
the  blast  holes  open ; the  moment  the  copper  begins  to  run  it  sinks 
by  its  own  weight,  and  tends  to  clog  the  air-holes,  which  therefore  re- 
quire to  be  continually  probed  with  iron  rods  during  the  operation. 

The  Lota  glass-works  is  the  only  establishment  of  the  kind  in 
Chili ; it  is  furnished  with  Siemens  gas-furnaces,  and  turns  out  about 

100.000  bottles  a month,  besides  various  articles,  such  as  telegraph 
insulators.  In  glass-blowing  and  furnace-work  80  men  and  boys  are 

' employed. 

The  brick-works  produce  building  and  fire-bricks,  gas-retorts, 
flower-pots,  drain-pipes,  and  tiles;  they  employ  150  men  and  boys,  and 
turn  out  about  2,000,000  bricks  a year.  The  only  fire-clay  hitherto 
discovered  in  Chili  is  found  at  Lota,  below  the  lower  and  main  coal 
seam. 

Besides  the  above  sections  we  must  mention  a general  machine 
and  workshop,  or  maestranzci,  where  80  men  are  employed  attending 
to  repairs,  making  tools,  etc. 

Altogether  the  Lota  establishment,  with  its  various  branches,  gives 
employment  to  some  3000  people.  The  coal-mines  are  the  most 
extensive  in  Chili.  No  other  mines  reach  the  output  of  180,000  to 

220.000  tons,  which  is  the  annual  average  at  Lota.  The  output  of  the 
other  principal  mines  in  the  Chilian  coal-field  may  be  estimated  as 


148 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


follows:  the  Schwager  mines,  at  Coronel,  70,000  tons;  Rojas  mines,  at 
Coronel,  30,000  tons ; the  Errazuris  mines,  at  Lebu,  40,000  tons ; and 
the  Arauco  Company,  30,000  tons.  This  last  company  is,  however, 
greatly  increasing  its  output  The  total  annual  production  of  coal  in 


LOTA  BAJA. 


Chili  may  be  estimated  at  400,000  tons,  and  about  250.000  to  300,000 
tons  are  imported  from  England  and  Australia.  Lota  coal  brings  $10 
(Chilian)  placed  on  board  in  Lota  Bay,  and  is  used  for  steaming,  gas, 
and  smelting.  The  Government  official  statistics  state  that  in  1888 
the  export  of  Chilian  coal  amounted  to  128,386  metric  tons,  having  a 
value  of  $1,314,259  (Chilian). 

With  the  exception  of  the  manager  of  the  maestranza , who  is  a 
German,  the  heads  of  the  various  departments  at  Lota  are  all  English; 
several  of  them,  it  is  true,  born  in  Chili,  but  still  English  in  language, 
habits,  and  genius. 


COAL-MINING  IN  CHILI. 


149 


We  spent  two  days  inspecting  the  industrial  marvels  of  Lota,  and 
enjoying  the  hospitality  of  various  obliging  gentlemen,  whom  we 
found  admirably  provided  with  the  necessaries  and  luxuries  of  exist- 
ence. We  were  also  requested  to  feel  at  home  in  the  club-house  at 
Lota,  which  once  more  excited  my  surprise  by  the  relative  complete- 
ness of  its  appointments.  Veracity  obliges  me  to  state  that  one  of  the 
most  important  features  in  Chilian  clubs  is  the  bar-room.  As  for  the 
town  of  Lota  itself,  there  is  nothing  particular  to  be  said  except  that 
upper  Lota,  with  its  neat  villas  surrounded  by  gardens,  reminds  one 
of  an  English  sea-side  town.  I cannot,  however,  leave  the  place  with- 
out devoting  a few  lines  to  the  Cousino  house  and  park,  which  is  one 
of  the  show-places 
of  Chili,  and  cer- 
tainly one  of  the 
most  beautiful  gar- 
dens in  the  whole 
world.  The  house, 
which  is  still  in 
construction,  is  a 
reminiscence  of 
some  of  the  most 
charming  chateaus 


of  Touraine.  It 
stands  on  the  sum- 
mit of  a bluff  jut- 
ting out  into  the 
sea  between  the 
bay  of  Lota  and 
the  bay  of  Coro- 
nel,  commanding  a 
magnificent  view 
on  three  sides  over 
the  ocean,  and  on 
the  fourth  side  over 
woods  and  gardens. 

This  bluff  is  entirely  covered  with  trees  and  flowers  right  down 
to  the  water’s  edge,  and  is  laid  out  with  many  miles  of  paths  that 
wind  capriciously  up  and  down,  over  bridges,  along  terraces  over- 
hanging the  sea,  through  grottoes  and  cascades  and  trellised  pas- 


THE  COUSlStO  HOUSE,  LOTA, 


i5o 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


sages  radiant  with  the  splendid  red  bell-flowers  of  the  Copivia  or 
Lapageria  rosa,  with  which  the  Chilian  ladies  deck  their  hair  so  effec- 
tively. Never  have  I seen  such  abundance  and  variety  of  flowers  as  in 
this  garden,  or  a finer  and  completer  collection  of  the  trees  and  shrubs 
of  North  and  South  America.  The  park  of  Lota,  the  result  of 
twenty  years’  assiduous  attention,  needs  only  a catalogue  to  be  one  of 
the  best  botanical  gardens  in  the  world,  as  it  is  certainly  one  of  the 
most  picturesque. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA. 

THERE  are  but  few  towns  on  the  face  of  the  earth  where  one 
may  lead  with  satisfaction  a delicately  material  life.  It  is  need- 
less to  enumerate  these  favored  spots.  It  suffices  to  say  that  Iquique, 
latitude  20°  12'  15"  south  is  not  one  of  them.  From  the  point  of 
view  of  population  Iquique  is  the  seventh  city  of  Chili,  the  order 
being  Santiago,  Valparaiso,  Concepcion,  Talca,  Chilian,  and  Serena. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  commerce  it  is  second  in  importance  and 
interest  only  to  Valparaiso,  for  it  is  the  great  business  and  export 
centre  of  the  nitrate  trade,  which  is  the  true  source  of  the  present 
wealth  of  Chili.  Uninviting  as  the  place  may  seem,  it  is  the  duty  of 
the  traveller  to  halt  there  in  order  to  visit  the  strange  desert  in  the 
interior  where  the  nitrate  is  extracted  and  manufactured ; and  if  the 
traveller  have  eyes  to  see  withal  and  intelligence  to  understand,  he 
will  not  regret  his  visit,  for  after  the  petroleum  grounds  of  the  Cas- 
pian there  is  perhaps  not  a more  curious  tract  of  land  in  the  world. 

As  trains  do  not  start  for  the  pampa  every  day,  we  will  take  ad- 
vantage of  an  enforced  delay  to  examine  Iquique.  It  is  a poor  port, 
blocked  up  with  dangerous  rocks  and  reefs,  which  prevent  ships  ap- 
proaching the  shore.  There  are  several  small  moles,  but  these  are 
insufficient  for  the  traffic,  and  consequently  you  see  men  wading  in 
the  surf  up  to  their  waists  with  burdens  on  their  shoulders.  The  sys- 
tem is  most  primitive.  The  ships  are  anchored  at  some  distance,  in  a 
bay  to  the  north  of  the  town,  and  the  loading  and  unloading  are  done 
with  lighters.  When  there  is  no  mole  at  the  disposal  of  the  lighter,  it 
is  brought  within  forty  or  fifty  yards  of  the  shore  and  the  cargo  dis- 
charged into  small  boats,  which  are  beached  in  the  surf,  and  unloaded 
by  the  wading  wharfmen.  Along  the  water’s  edge  are  shabby  ware- 
houses and  piles  of  nitrate  in  sacks.  To  the  north  are  many  sailing 
ships  riding  at  anchor  on  the  glassy  water.  To  the  south  are  the 
smoky  chimneys  of  silver- refining  works.  In  the  background  rise 
brown  and  barren  mountains  some  2000  feet  high,  zebraed  with  zig- 


152 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


~ ■ — = ■ — 1 . ■ - ..  ..  — . ' . . ..  ~~  - . : 

f : . ' A'  k 


UNLOADING  FREIGHT  ON  THE  BEACH  AT  IQUIQUE. 


zag  paths  of  a lighter  shade,  and  striped  along  the  lower  spurs  with 
pointed  sand  drifts,  which  themselves  whirl  and  swirl  until  they  grad- 
ually grow  into  crests  and  hills  of  respectable  size.  These  mountains 
spring  up  about  two  miles  from  the  shore,  leaving  a flat  and  arid 
sandy  plain  on  which  the  town  has  been  laid  out  with  streets  fifteen 


THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA. 


153 


to  twenty  metres  wide,  a fine  carriage-road  along  the  sea  to  the  south, 
an  agreeable  plaza  ornamented  with  Norfolk  Island  pines,  and  a cen- 
tral monument  in  the  Gothic  style  in  honor  of  Arturo  Prat,  the 
modern  naval  hero  of  Chili.  I remarked  with  renewed  surprise  this 
South  American  taste  for  Gothic  when  I entered  my  hotel  beneath  a 
depressed  Gothic  archway  with  stiifcco  mouldings.  No  style  could  be 
less  adapted  to  a land  where  earthquakes  are  permanently  dreaded. 
On  one  side  of  the  plaza  is  a handsome  theatre  which  seems  rather 
large  for  the  population ; on  the  other  sides  are  some  pleasant  private 
houses  with  open  upper  stories,  built  of  wood  and  painted  bright 
green,  blue,  or  brown ; other  commodious  private  houses  may  be 
noticed  in  the  different  streets,  but  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three 
blocks  of  stone  or  brick,  all  the  buildings  in  Iquique  are  of  wood  with 
flat  roofs,  strewn  with  crushed  sea- shells  to  absorb  what  little  moist- 
ure the  dews  deposit,  and  dotted  with  ventilators  that  -suggest  enor- 
mous mouse -traps  set  to  catch  the  prevalent  breeze.  In  this  part  of 
the  world,  it  must  be  remembered,  it  rains  perhaps  once  in  five  years, 
and  even  then  the  moisture  that  falls  is  more  like  heavy  fog  than  reg- 
ular dropping  rain.  The  consequence  is  that  there  is  no  water  and 
no  vegetation,  not  a blade  of  grass,  not  a weed.  The  brown  streets 
with  their  wooden  sidewalks  are  sprinkled  daily  with  sea-water  to  lay 
the  dust,  and  remain  glistening  with  little  crystals  of  salt,  while  for 
domestic  purposes  the  inhabitants  use  distilled  water  or  water  carried 
in  special  steamboats  from  Arica.  Now,  however,  pipes  have  been 
laid  from  Pica  in  the  interior  by  the  Tarapaca  Water  Company,  and 
Iquique  will  soon  be  well  provided  with  the  standard  temperance 
beverage.  Meanwhile,  to  judge  from  outward  appearances,  temper- 
ance doctrines  are  not  popular;  bar-rooms  and  drinking  saloons  are 
innumerable,  cocktails  are  in  constant  demand,  and  the  town  enjoys 
along  the  coast  an  old-established  reputation  of  “ moistness.”  Other- 
wise the  aspect  of  Iquique  is  sufficiently  cosmopolitan ; the  shops  are 
enlivened  with  a profusion  of  gaudy  American  and  English  chromo- 
lithographs advertising  cigarettes,  patent-medicines,  soaps,  spirits,  and 
various  articles ; the  signs  are  polyglot,  as  in  all  seaports,  and  English 
influence  triumphs  in  the  formation  of  such  signs  as  “ Lunche  a todas 
horas  ” and  “ Hojalateria  y Gasfiteria ,”  while  the  English  colony  is 
very  numerous,  and  controls  the  chief  business  of  the  town  and 
province.  Thanks  to  English  friends  and  to  the  hospitality  of  the 
English  Club,  I managed  to  pass  my  time  agreeably  while  waiting  for 


154 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


trains  and  steamers  in  this  queer,  brown,  slummy  Iquique,  inspecting 
the  shops  and  the  movement  of  the  port,  gossiping  with  pleasant  peo- 
ple, marvelling  at  the  wonderful  after-glow  of  the  Pacific  sunsets,  and 
admiring  the  charming  Spanish  and  Anglo -Spanish  maidens  who 
may  be  seen  of  an  evening  when  the  military  band  plays  on  the  Plaza 
Arturo  Prat. 

The  vast  desert  between  the  Camarones  and  Copiapo  has  been 
aptly  compared  to  an  immense  chemical  laboratory,  so  great  is  its 
richness  in  salts  of  various  kinds.  The  region  which  produces  raw 
nitrate  of  soda,  called  caliche , extends  from  the  Camarones  in  latitude 
19  12  south  as  far  as  Taltal,  latitude  25”  45',  covering  a longitudinal 
distance  of  6:  33 , or  393  geographical  miles  from  north  to  south,  with 
an  average  width  of  say  three  kilometres  from  east  to  west.  In  these 
latitudes  the  coast  rises  quickly  to  a height  of  about  3000  feet,  and 
then,  journeying  eastward,  we  find  the  country  mountainous,  the  coast 
Cordillera  continuing  its  course  parallel  with  the  Andes.  On  the 
eastern  gentle  slopes  of  the  coast  Cordillera  the  nitrate  beds  occur  at 
a distance  from  the  sea  of  between  25  and  50  miles,  and  at  a height  of 
from  3000  to  5000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  salitreras  of 
Iquique  and  Pisagua  are  the  nearest  to  the  sea,  and  their  height 
above  the  sea-level  varies  between  3000  and  4000  feet  in  round  num- 
bers. With  slight  variation  in  the  stratification,  the  nitrate  beds  of 
the  provinces  of  Antofagasta  and  Atacama  resemble  those  of  Tara- 
paca.  So,  then,  we  have  towards  the  east  the  great  masses  of  the 
Andes,  in  the  centre  a longitudinal  valley  or  pampa  which  resembles 
the  dry  bed  of  a river,  and  on  the  west  the  gentle  slopes  and  undula- 
tions of  the  coast  Cordillera,  where  the  nitrate  deposits  are  found 
along  the  edge  of  the  pampa,  so  that  a transverse  section  of  this 
part  of  the  continent  would  look  thus : 

The  nitrate  band,  as  we  may 
call  it,  is  not  absolutely  continu- 
ous ; the  distribution  of  the  salitre 
is  not  uniform,  and  considerable 
stretches  of  land  are  found  with- 
out it;  but  wherever  the  salitre 
does  occur,  it  is  in  the  conditions 
specified — that  is  to  say,  along  the  western  edge  of  the  pampa,  and 
on  the  slopes  of  the  foot-hills  of  the  coast  Cordillera.  Furthermore, 
the  nearer  we  get  to  the  level  of  the  pampa,  the  greater  the  propor- 


C.  Coast  Cordillera.  S.  Salitreras.  V.  Lon- 
gitudinal Valley  or  Pampa.  A.  Andes. 


OF  ATACAMA. 


THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA. 


157 


tion  of  other  salts  found  in  the  salitre,  which  becomes  consequently 
less  suitable  for  the  economical  manufacture  of  nitrate  of  soda. 
The  salitreras  of  the  province  of  Tarapaca  being  the  richest  and 
the  most  interesting  from  both  the  physical  and  the  commercial 
point  of  view,  we  shall  limit  our  attention  to  them,  and  asking  the 
reader  to  accompany  us  in  a visit  to  some  of  the  best  establish- 
ments, or  oficinas , as  they  are  called,  we  shall  endeavor  to  explain 
the  processes  of  the  extraction  and  manufacture  of  this  product,  which 
is  of  vital  importance  to  Chili,  and,  it  would  appear,  of  almost  equal 
importance  to  modern  agriculture.  In  order  to  make  our  prose  more 
lucid  we  subjoin  a sketch  map  of  the  nitrate  fields  of  Tarapaca,  show- 
ing the  general  configuration  of  the  country,  the  railway  and  water- 
pipe  lines,  and  the  position  of  the  different  oficinas  now  existing,  and 
representing  many  millions  of  English  capital,  for  the  nitrate  industry 
in  Chili  is  essentially  English. 

So,  then,  we  start  one  morning  from  the  Iquique  station  in  the 
long  and  crowded  train  of  the  Nitrate  Railways  Company  Limited. 
The  passengers  are  very  mixed,  even  in  the  first-class  cars,  for  those 
who  labor  in  the  pampa  are  improvident,  and  while  they  have  money 
they  want  the  best  that  money  can  buy.  Our  neighbors  are  English 
engineers,  some  in  light  clothes  of  the  most  correct  London  cut, 
others  wearing  riding-breeches,  long  boots,  and  helmet  hats;  Italians 
and  Austrians  who  keep  liquor  shops  and  stores  in  some  of  the  settle- 
ments; Peruvians  and  Chilians  employed  in  the  oficinas;  two  or  three 
women  in  modern  hats  and  mantles;  other  dark-skinned  native 
women  wrapped  up  in  black  shawls,  silent  and  ruminative ; while  the 
rank  and  file  of  the  passengers  consist  of  workmen  of  all  shades  and 
nationalities,  including  several  Japanese  who  have  drifted  down  from 
Peru,  a few  Chinamen  who  are  established  in  the  pampa  as  peddlers 
or  dry-goods  dealers,  and  a large  number  of  Bolivian  Indians,  the 
women  all  laden  with  baskets  and  eager  for  business.*  The  train 
steams  out  of  the  station  and  begins  to  climb  up  the  mountains.  At 
a distance  of  two  miles  we  reach  a reversing  station,  and  then  mount 
up  with  gradients  of  2.50  to  3.85  per  cent.,  and  curves  after  curves, 
some  of  450  feet  radius,  until  we  gain  the  station  of  Molle,  1578  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Thence  we  mount  gently  to  Santa  Rosa, 

* The  number  of  workmen  employed  in  the  Tarapaca  nitrate  field  in  January,  1890,  was 
nearly  13,000,  consisting  of  8267  Chilians,  1282  Peruvians,  2719  Bolivians,  and  the  rest  of  va- 
rious nationalities. 


158 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


2872  feet,  near  which  are  the  famous  silver  mines  of  the  same  name, 
and  on  the  other  side  the  line  the  silver  mines  of  Huantajaya  which 
were  worked  by  the  Spaniards.  Passing  Las  Carpas  and  San  Juan 
we  attain  a height  of  3223  feet  at  the  Central  Station,  29  miles  from 
Iquique.  The  scenery  thus  far  has  been  at  once  curious  and  fascinat- 
ing in  the  novelty  of  certain  effects.  All  that  we  see  is  sand  or  rock, 
or  a sort  of  red  conglomerate  strewn  with  bowlders,  and  loose  flint  or 
limestones;  but  the  outlines  of  the  mountains  are  beautiful  in  sil- 
houette, the  undulations  of  the  lower  valleys  have  a singular  softness, 
and  the  brilliant  sunshine  plays  over  the  interminable  wilderness  of 
hill  and  dale,  developing  in  the  arid  rock  and  sand  a variety  of  color 
that  replaces  vegetation,  and  sometimes  even  produces  the  illusion  of 
some  dark  green  growth  which  might  be  appropriate  in  a lunar  land- 
scape. There  are  places,  too,  on  the  hill-sides  where  nature’s  chemis- 
try has  painted  graceful  designs,  as  it  were  the  arabesques  of  foliated 
Gothic  windows,  with  the  colors  of  green,  violet,  and  yellow  oxides, 
while  other  brown  hills  are  toned  with  a velvety  purple  haze  of  sun 
smoke,  soft  as  the  bloom  on  a plum. 

The  Central  Station  is  an  important  junction.  Here  the  pampa 
proper  begins,  and  with  it  the  nitrate  deposits.  One  branch  of  the 
line  goes  southward  through  La  Noria,  and  divides  into  two  sections, 
which  terminate  at  San  Lorenzo  and  Santa  Elena,  respectively  47  and 
52!  miles  from  Iquique,  and  communicate  with  some  twenty  estab- 
lishments. From  a point  near  Virginia,  on  one  of  these  sections,  it 
is  proposed  to  build  a new  line  down  to  Lagunas,  where  there  is  one 
lot  of  8000  acres  of  nitrate  in  many  places  8 feet  thick,  and  in  the 
immediate  neighborhood  other  equally  rich  deposits.  It  will  be  no- 
ticed that  another  line  is  marked  on  the  map  between  Lagunas  and 
the  port  of  Patillos,  “ proposed  line  begun  but  construction  pending.” 
If  this  line  should  be  built  it  would  naturally  divert  the  traffic  from 
Iquique,  and  the  two  shipping  ports  for  nitrate  would  become  Patillos 
and  Pisagua.  It  remains  to  be  seen  whether  the  Government  will  al- 
low this  sword  of  Damocles  to  fall  and  annihilate  at  one  blow  the  youth- 
ful and  thriving  town  of  Iquique,  whose  municipality,  I am  told,  has 
just  ordered  from  those  terribly  dexterous  Italian  sculptors  four  white 
marble  fountains  for  the  further  adornment  of  its  Plaza  Arturo  Prat. 
However,  it  is  curious  to  note  the  fact  that  the  existence  of  Iquique  is 
precarious.  The  final  question  always  is,  “Will  it  last?”  it  meaning 
not  only  Iquique,  but  the  nitrate  industry  and  all  connected  therewith. 


MAP  OF  THF.  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA. 


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THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA.  161 

From  the  Central  Station  we  continue  along  the  northern  line, 
and  at  Montevideo,  36^  miles  from  Iquique,  we  reach  the  highest 
point  of  the  railway,  namely,  3810  feet,  and  thence  descend  to  Pozo 
Almonte,  3371  feet,  where  we  find  the  solution  of  a problem  that  has 
been  exercising  our  inquisitive  minds:  In  this  brown  and  rainless 
desert  where  is  water  obtained  for  the  locomotives  ? At  Pozo  are 
wells  from  which  the  water  is  pumped  up  to  Montevideo,  whence  it 
runs  down  by  its  own  weight  to  the  Central  Station,  and  from  there  it 
is  carried  in  tank-cars  as  far  as  Santa  Rosa.  This  well-water,  being 
charged  with  lime  and  other  substances,  requires  to  be  purified  before 
it  can  be  used  in  the  boilers,  and  with  this  object  it  is  heated  and  a 
quantity  of  carbonate  of  soda  dissolved  in  it.  The  lime  and  other 
salts  are  thus  precipitated.  So  far  as  the  southern  pampa  is  con- 
cerned, the  water-pipes  from  Pica  will,  of  course,  modify  in  the  near 
future  this  state  of  affairs,  which  I mention  as  an  instance  of  the  diffi- 
culties encountered.  Meanwhile,  in  all  the  oficinas  and  all  along  the 
line  as  far  as  Dolores,  91  miles  from  Iquique,  where  good  water  is 
found,  the  well-water  for  the  boilers  has  to  be  treated  with  carbonate 
of  soda  before  it  can  be  used. 

At  Pozo  Almonte  we  enter  the  great  northern  pampa  of  Tamaru- 
gal,  which  is  lined  with  oficinas  for  a distance  of  nearly  60  miles,  as  far 
as  the  Nivel  station.  From  Pozo,  3371  feet,  the  ground  gradually 
rises  up  to  Primitiva,  3752  feet,  and  sinks  a little  towards  Nivel,  which 
is  3610  feet  above  the  sea-level.  From  Nivel  to  the  port  of  Pisagua, 
a distance  of  20  miles,  the  gradients  vary  between  2.70  and  5 per  cent., 
and  over  the  last  5 miles  from  Hospicio  to  Pisagua  the  line  zigzags 
down  the  steep  coast  hills  with  three  reversing  stations.  The  gauge 
of  the  line  is  4 feet  inches,  and  the  total  length  of  rails  in  working 
in  January,  1890,  was  236.77  miles.  The  Nitrate  Railways  Company, 
it  may  be  added,  was  finally  incorporated  in  London  as  a joint-stock 
company  in  the  year  1882,  the  enterprise  having  passed  through  many 
hands,  phases,  and  difficulties  since  the  first  concession  was  granted 
by  the  Peruvian  Government  in  i860.  With  the  history  of  the  line, 
however,  we  need  not  concern  ourselves.  Let  us  return  to  its  pict- 
uresque and  industrial  features.  In  the  important  stations  like  Cen- 
tral, Pozo,  and  Huara,  we  notice  crowds  of  spectators  and  swarms  of 
small  traders,  like  those  who  attracted  our  attention  in  Southern  Chili, 
offering  for  sale  cazticla  with  thumb  sauce,  cakes,  grapes,  and  other 
fruits.  The  types  are  slightly  different  from  those  of  the  southern 


1 62 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


provinces.  The  women,  instead  of  being  half-breeds  of  various  de- 
grees, are  mostly  pure  Bolivian  Indians,  with  long  braids  of  glossy 
black  hair  hanging  down  their  backs,  some  very  large  and  portly,  with 
broad  round  faces,  suggesting  a sphere  slightly  flattened  by  vertical 
pressure,  others  more  elegant  and  slender  in  stature,  with  finely  cut 
features,  busqu'e  noses,  and  brilliant  eyes.  On  closer  study  I discovered 
that  the  larger  women  were  not  really  so  massive  as  they  appeared 
to  be ; their  apparent  volume  is  due  to  the  fact  that  every  year  at 
carnival  time  they  put  on  a new  skirt  over  the  old  one,  so  that  as  they 
increase  in  years  they  increase  in  skirts.  Their  costume  consists  of  a 
man’s  hat  of  felt  or  straw,  a camisole  and  shawl,  and  a rough  baize 
skirt  of  brilliant  green,  red,  or  old-gold  yellow.  These  ladies  are  in- 
defatigable traders,  and  ride  on  donkeys  from  camp  to  camp  in  the 
pampa,  selling  the  fruit  and  vegetables  that  are  grown  in  the  oasis 
of  Pica,  a beautiful  green  spot  dating  from  the  old  Spanish  mining 
days.  Around  the  chief  stations  little  towns  are  growing  up.  They 
are  composed  of  one  or  two  streets  of  corrugated  iron  sheds  erect- 
ed in  the  midst  of  the  sandy  wilderness.  In  accordance  with  Chil- 
ian custom,  each  householder  endeavors  to  have  a flag-pole  over  his 
door,  and  some  ragged  colored  bunting  flaps  in  the  wind,  while  en- 
terprising shopkeepers  hoist  flaunting  signs — “ La  Vencedora,”  “A1 
pobre  Diablo,”  “ A1  pobre  roto,”  “ La  Flor  de  Huara,”  or  “La  Bella 
Jardinera;”  and  in  still  bigger  letters  another  trader  announces  that 
the  rich  new  chicha  has  just  arrived — “ Llego  la  rica  chica!”  Near 
these  gray  sheet-  iron  camps,  a few  hundred  yards  beyond,  in  the 
sandy  wilderness,  is  a still  more  dismal  spot  — the  cemetery,  a few 
black  wooden  crosses  planted  all  askew  in  the  rough  sand,  beneath 
which  the  corpses  remain  dried  and  shrivelled  like  mummies,  the  salt 
soil  preserving  them  from  putrefaction,  and  from  that  return  to  dust 
which  we  are  told  is  the  end  of  all  men. 

The  scenery  from  Pozo  Almonte  continues  with  a certain  same- 
ness the  whole  length  of  the  pampa.  The  configuration  of  the  land 
is  similar;  the  effect  varies  as  the  light  changes.  In  the  morning  all 
is  calm ; towards  one  o’clock  a strong  wind  sweeps  along  the  valley, 
raising  clouds  and  whirlpools  of  dust;  at  sunset  the  calm  returns, 
and  the  brown  hills  assume  the  most  brilliant  colors,  while  the  gray 
sandy  pampa  becomes  tinted  with  pink  and  violet.  The  nitrate  desert 
would,  indeed,  form  a rich  field  of  observation  for  the  analytic  colorists 
of  the  “ impressionist  ” school.  After  we  reach  the  upper  table-land, 


THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA.  163 

the  absolute  barrenness  ceases  so  far  as  concerns  the  pampa  proper, 
where  some  dry  bushes  of  the  acacia  family,  called  tamarugal , still 
grow  with  a gray  and  dusty  pertinacity  — remnants  of  former  days, 
when  the  whole  valley  was  covered  with  them,  and  so  furnished  handy 
fuel  to  the  first  extractors  of  nitrate.  It  is  now  afternoon,  and  the 
train  is  steaming  along  gently.  In  the  distance,  over  the  glaring 
waste  of  sand  and  scant  scrub,  you  see  the  snowy  peaks  of  the  Andes, 
and  on  the  horizon  of  the  plain  innumerable  spiral  columns  of  whirl- 
ing dust  rising  to  a great  height  like  the  smoke  of  so  many  bonfires. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  line  are  the  deep  red-brown  slopes  of  the 
foot-hills  of  the  coast  Cordillera,  and  the  band  of  gray  sand  and  brown 
conglomerate  beneath  which  the  nitrate  lies.  From  time  to  time 
there  appears  a group  of  two  or  three  smoking  chimneys,  strange  ter- 
races of  banks  rising  one  above  the  other  on  a substructure  of  open 
timbers,  row  after  row  of  little  hillocks  of  a snowy  coarse  powder,  an 
incipient  village  composed  of  long  sheds  of  corrugated  iron,  a move- 
ment of  laboring  men  and  mules,  and  all  around  the  plain  and  slopes 
torn  up  with  holes  and  irregular  trenches  and  covered  with  heaps  of 
shapeless  brown  bowlders  that  look  like  gigantic  truffles.  This  is  an 
oficina.  We  pass  many  of  them,  each  more  or  less  resembling  the 
other,  until  we  come  to  “ La  Primitiva,"  where  we  are  to  make  our 
headquarters.  This  is  one  of  the  most  modern  and  complete  estab- 
lishments in  the  Tarapaca  district,  and  in  this  oficina , and  in  the 
neighboring  ones  of  San  Rosario  de  Huara,  San  Jorge,  and  Agua 
Santa,  the  visitor  and  the  technical  observer  will  see  all  the  most 
recent  improvements  that  science  and  experience  have  brought  to 
the  development  of  this  nitrate  industry. 

The  production  of  nitrate  of  soda  is  divided  into  two  distinct 
operations : the  extraction  of  the  raw  material,  or  caliche , from  the 
ground,  and  the  extraction  of  the  nitrate  itself  from  that  raw  material, 
and  the  separation  of  it  from  other  accompanying  substances.  In 
order  to  see  the  first  operation  we  must  ride  over  the  grounds  on  one 
of  those  easy  Chilian  pacing  horses  and  visit  the  calichcras , as  they 
are  called.  The  beginning  of  the  process  is  a tiro , or  hole  30  or  35 
centimetres  in  diameter  (f),  pierced  through  the  bed  of  raw  nitrate  by 
means  of  long  crow-bars  and  spoon-shovels  to  scoop  out  the  dirt. 
When  the  hole  is  of  sufficient  depth  a little  boy  drops  down  the  shaft, 
and  digs  out  a cup-shaped  excavation  of  greater  diameter  than  the 
shaft  itself,  and  in  this  cavity  the  blasting-powder  is  placed,  and  then 


164 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


the  hole  is  filled  up  and  the  fuse  lighted.  The  object  aimed  at  is 
simply  to  break  the  ground  over  a space  of  five  or  six  metres,  and 
not  to  blow  it  up  and  scatter  the  fragments  right  and  left ; hence  the 
broadening  of  the  hole  at  the  base,  and  the  use  of  weak  gunpowder. 
A sketch  of  a tiro  would  present  the  aspect  of  the  accompanying  cut, 
which  will  also  explain  the  stratification  of  th^  nitrate  beds. 

This  caliche  is  seldom  found  lying  on  the  soil,  but  usually  at  a 
depth  of  ii  to  10  or  more  feet  below  the  surface.  The  first  layer 

(a)  is  generally  one 
of  sand  and  dust, 
called  chic  a,  about 
15  centimetres 
thick.  Below  this 
is  a rocky  conglom- 
erate of  clay,  grav- 
el, and  fragments 
of  felspar,  porphy- 
ry, and  greenstone, 
cemented  together 
with  sulphates  of 
calcium,  potassium, 
sodium,  magnesium,  and  a little  common  salt.  This  layer  ( b ) is  called 
costra,  and  the  lumps  of  it  are  often  used  for  building  walls,  etc., 
which  are  solid  enough  so  long  as  water  does  not  touch  them,  for 
water  dissolves  the  cementing  elements,  and  then  the  costra  crum- 
bles. Below  this  is  the  caliche  (r),  and  in  the  lower  part  of  the  caliche 
a layer  of  congelo  ( d ),  resembling  externally  a very  moist  gravel  which 
has  been  frozen.  This  layer  contains  common  salt,  chloride  of  mag- 
nesium, sulphates,  and  only  a small  percentage  of  nitrate  of  soda. 
Below  this  is  a pale  reddish-brown  loose  clay,  sometimes  mealy,  some- 
times sandy,  with  many  glittering  crystals  of  anhydrite.  This  layer 
(1 e ) is  called  coba , contains  no  nitrate,  and  rests  upon  the  primitive 
rock  or  clay  bed  forming  the  basis  of  the  geological  formation  of  the 
region. 

The  layer  of  caliche  varies  in  thickness  from  a few  centimetres  to 
2 and  even  2I  metres.  It  varies  also  in  quality,  purity,  and  color. 
The  raw  material  contains  from  17  to  50  per  cent,  of  nitrate  of  soda, 
and  even  more  in  very  favored  spots,  for  instance,  at  Agua  Santa.  Its 
chemical  composition  is  a mixture  of  nitrate  of  soda  and  chlorure  of 


THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA.  165 

sodium  in  very  variable  proportions  as  principal  elements,  combined 
with  clay,  sand,  stones,  and  other  earthy  matter  insoluble  in  water. 
The  accessory  salts  found  in  it  are  chlorures  of  potassium  and  mag- 
nesium, nitrate  of  potassium,  gypsum,  iodates  and  iodure  of  sodium. 
Caliche  is  crystalline  in  structure,  slightly  salt  in  taste,  and  very  soluble 
in  water.  Its  color  varies  from  all  shades  of  gray  and  brown  to  snow- 
white,  lemon,  sulphur,  violet,  blue,  and  green.  The  yellow  tints  indi- 
cate the  presence  of  chrome  or  bromide  of  sodium,  while  oxides  of  iron, 
copper,  and  manganese  account  for  the  red,  green,  and  black  shades. 

The  origin  of  these  deposits  has  been  and  is  still  the  subject  of 
ingenious  conjectures,  no  one  of  which  is  entirely  satisfactory.  To 
mention  these  hypotheses  at  length  would  require  much  space.  Let 
it  suffice  to  say  that  the  most  probable  seems  to  be  that  which  at- 
tributes the  formation  of  this  substance  to  the  decomposition  of 
sea -weeds,  the  nitrogenous  collectors  of  iodine.  At  one  time,  it  is 
supposed — and  fossil  remains  confirm  the  theory — that  the  present 
continent  was  a sea- bottom.  By  the  lifting  up  of  the  land  through 
volcanic  action  great  lakes  of  salt-water  were  formed  in  the  valleys. 
Gradually  the  salt-water  evaporated,  and  the  sea-weed  contained  in  it 
began  to  decompose  and  form  nitric  acid,  which,  coming  in  contact 


TRUCKS  LADEN  WITH  CALICHE. 


1 66  THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 

with  chalk,  supplied  by  shells  and  limestone,  formed  nitrate  of  cal- 
cium, and  the  nitrate  of  calcium,  in  presence  of  the  sulphate  of  soda 
deposited  by  the  sea-water,  produced  a change  of  elements  with  this 
latter  salt,  the  result  of  the  double  decomposition  being  sulphate  of 
calcium  and  nitrate  of  soda.  This  sea-weed  theory  has  the  advantage 
of  accounting  for  the  iodine  which  is  found,  in  greater  or  less  quanti- 
ties, in  most  caliche . 

Another  hypothesis  presupposes  large  deposits  of  guano,  which 
might  undergo  nitrification  and  produce  chemical  reactions  in  the 
same  way  as  the  sea-weed.  Certain  organic  remains  are  found  in 
caliche  to  give  color  to  this  theory  also.  Yet  another  theory  is  that 
the  nitrification  of  the  sodium,  the  presence  of  which  in  the  soil  is 
easily  accounted  for,  was  produced  by  the  violent  and  abundant  elec- 
trical discharges  which  are  common  in  the  Andes,  and  that  the  pres- 
ent disposition  of  the  caliche  along  the  slopes  of  the  foot-hills  is  due 
to  capillary  attraction,  nitrate  of  soda  having  a singular  tendency  to 
creep  upward,  as  experiment  will  show,  provided  the  air  be  sufficiently 
dry.  As  for  the  explanation  of  the  present  deposits  of  caliche  on  one 
side  of  the  pampa  only,  and  always  above  the  level  of  the  pampa,  it  is 
simply  that  this  band  is  all  that  remains,  the  rest  having  been  melted 
and  washed  away.  Doubtless  at  a given  moment  there  was  caliche 
on  both  sides  of  the  valley,  and  in  the  valley  itself,  but  the  intermit- 
tent water  floods  from  the  Andes  have  naturally  dissolved  it  all  except 
the  narrow  band  in  question,  in  the  formation  of  which  capillary  at- 
traction may  also  be  supposed  to  have  had  a role.  An  absolute  con- 
dition of  the  existence  of  caliche  is  dryness.  The  desert  where  it  is 
now  found  must  have  been  for  thousands  and  thousands  of  years 
without  rain,  and  should  the  climate  suddenly  change  and  moisture 
come  in  abundance,  the  precious  deposits  would  disappear  like  a 
charm.  Therefore,  although  the  soil  of  the  pampa  is  magnificent  in 
quality,  and  although  irrigation  on  a grand  scale  from  the  Andine 
lakes  would  be  possible  and  practical,  cultivation  cannot  be  thought 
of  until  the  nitrate  beds  are  exhausted,  because  vegetation  would  at- 
tract and  store  moisture  and  rapidly  modify  the  climate.  We  must 
not,  then,  expect  to  see  wheat  waving  on  the  pampa  of  Tamarugal  for 
the  next  fifty  or  perhaps  a hundred  years. 

The  extraction  of  the  caliche  is  a simple  operation.  The  tiros  are 
dug  and  blasted  systematically,  the  work  being,  for  convenience  sake, 
directed  from  the  lower  to  the  higher  beds,  so  that  the  loads  may  be 


THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA. 


167 


MAKING  A “TIRO”  IN  THE  NITRATE  BED. 


always  carried  downhill.  The  caliche  is  broken  with  sledge-hammers 
and  wedges  into  lumps  of  about  thirty  pounds  weight,  which  are 
cleaned  and  separated  from  rock  and  rubbish  as  much  as  possible  be- 
fore being  loaded  into  the  sheet-iron  mule  carts  and  carried  to  the 
crushing  machinery,  which  is  always  placed  on  the  highest  point  of 
the  manufactory.  Often,  if  the  ground  is  not  naturally  favorable,  an 
artificial  elevation  has  to  be  constructed  so  as  to  obtain  the  differences 
of  level  necessary  for  the  manufacturing  process. 

If  we  follow  one  of  these  carts,  drawn  by  three  mules,  with  the 
driver  mounted  on  one  of  them,  we  shall  reach  the  tipping-place  above 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


1 68 


the  hoppers  of  the  crushing  machinery,  at  which  point  we  may  con- 
veniently begin  our  visit  to  the  manufactory.  Cart  after  cart  arrives, 
wheels  round,  and  deposits  the  lumps  of  caliche  around  the  hoppers 
of  the  crushers,  which  are  fed  by  hand  generally.  The  crushers  are 
of  the  same  kind  as  those  employed  in  crushing  ore,  and  are  of  course 
driven  by  steam-power;  they  break  up  the  caliche  into  cubes  of  about 
two  inches,  which  fall  into  trucks  placed  below  the  crushers  and  on 
the  level  of  the  boiling  tanks.  A reference  to  the  accompanying  cut 
will  help  the  reader  to  understand  the  theory  and  practice  of  nitrate- 
making, which  consists  of  three  main  and  important  operations — 
i.  The  dissolution  of  the  caliche  in  water.  2.  Separation  by  filtration 
or  decantation  of  the  substances  held  in  suspension  in  the  liquid,  and 
which  are  less  soluble  salts,  earthy  matter,  or  secondary  products 
originating  in  the  chemical  process  itself.  3.  Crystallization  of  the 
nitrate  from  the  clear  and  pure  liquid.  We  need  not  describe  the 
various  methods  which  have  been  hitherto  employed  in  these  opera- 
tions, and  the  gradual  modifications  and  improvements  which  have 
been  introduced. 

In  no  modern  industry  have  more  costly  experiments  been  made 
than  in  that  of  nitrate-making,  and  doubtless  there  is  yet  much  to  be 
done  in  the  way  of  simplification  and  economy.  However,  we  will 
take  the  best  machinery  employed  to-day,  and  see  how  it  works.  We 
have,  then,  the  highest  point  (1),  where  the  mule-carts  tip  the  blocks 
of  caliche  into  the  crushers,  or  chancadoras  (2), 
— which  are  set  in  motion  by  a steam-engine  (3), 
and  which  discharge  the  small  cubes  of  caliche 


CRUSHERS 


into  trucks  (4).  These  trucks  are  pushed  by  hand  along  rails  over 
the  boiling  tanks,  or  caclmchos  (5).  The  boiling  is  effected  by 
Shanks’s  lixiviating  system,  first  introduced  into  nitrate  manufacture 
by  Mr.  I.  T.  Humberstone,  the  manager  of  “ La  Primitiva,”  causing  a 
continual  circulation  of  the  liquid  from  tank  to  tank.  The  cachuchos 
are  arranged  in  sets,  side  by  side.  They  are  boxes  of  sheet-iron,  each 
provided  with  a coil  of  pipes  and  appropriate  valves  and  siphons  for 
communication  with  the  main  steam-pipe,  with  the  other  tanks,  and 


THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA. 


169 


with  the  canal  for  running  off  the  liquor.  Each  coil  receives  steam 
from  the  boilers  by  the  pipe  a , and  returns  the  condensed  steam  to 
the  boilers  by  the  pipe  g m m n.  The  cachucho  has  a false  bottom 
pierced  with  holes  fifteen  centimetres  from  the  real  bottom,  and  on 
this  perforated  plate,  called  a crinoline,  the  crushed  caliche  rests.  In 
theory  the  manufacture  of  nitrate  consists  simply  in  dissolving  the 
caliche  by  means  of  water  heated  to  ebullition,  and  then  leaving  the 
water  to  cool  in  pans  where  the  saltpetre  can  be  conveniently  depos- 
ited. In  practice  the  process  is  more  complicated,  owing  to  the  pass- 
ing of  the  liquor  from  tank  to  tank.  Let  us  suppose,  for  example,  a 
series  of  five  boiling  tanks  in  operation.  No.  5 is  full  of  crushed 
caliche  and  cold  agua  vieja , or  mother-liquor  ; that  is  to  say,  of  the 
water  that  has  been  left  from  previous  operations  after  the  crystalliza- 
tion has  taken  place.  Steam  is  turned  on,  and  when  the  liquor  has 
reached  noJ  centigrade  and  112  density  by  Twaddle's  hydrometer, 
the  siphon  is  opened  to  allow  the  denser  liquor  at  the  bottom  of  the 
tank  to  pass  into  the  canal,  and  so  to  the  settling  tanks,  while  at  the 
same  time  more  agua  vieja  is  let  in  on  the  top.  When  the  density  of 
the  liquor  running  into  the  canal  descends  to  104°,  and  the  tempera- 
ture to  94  , the  siphon  is  closed,  and  the  communication  opened  with 
tank  No.  4,  the  agua  vieja  still  continuing  to  run  into  tank  No.  5. 
Full  steam  is  then  given  to  No.  4,  and  half-steam  only  to  No.  5.  In 
three  hours  or  so  the  dense  liquor  is  ready  to  be  run  out  of  No.  4 
tank,  and  the  communication  opened  with  No.  3,  agua  vieja  still  run- 
ning into  No.  5 all  the  time.  In  the  same  way  the  denser  liquor  is 
run  out  of  No.  3,  in  turn,  and  communication  opened  with  No.  2.  By 
this  time  the  caliche  in  No.  5 will  be  worn  out,  and  very  little  nitrate 
left  in  it.  The  communication  between  5 and  4 is  then  closed,  and 
the  agua  vieja  current  transferred  to  4,  while  a current  of  well-water 
is  run  over  5,  in  order  to  completely  wash  out  what  nitrate  may  re- 
main in  the  caliche.  The  result  of  this  washing  is  called  agua  de  re- 
lave,  and  is  stored  in  special  recipients.  The  caliche  in  No.  5 being 
now  quite  exhausted,  a door  is  opened  in  the  bottom  of  the  tank,  and 
a batch  of  men  half  naked  shovel  the  hot  rubbish  and  mud,  through 
the  aperture  into  trucks,  which  run  on  rails  below,  and  are  dragged  by 
mules  out  to  the  ripio , or  refuse  heap,  which  forms  a conspicuous  feat- 
ure in  every  djicina.  The  ripio  truck  is  marked  6 in  our  cut.  Mean- 
while tank  No.  1 has  entered  into  the  combination,  and  passes  on  its 
lighter  liquor  to  No.  5,  which  has  been  filled  with  new  caliche.  Then 


I/O  THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 

tank  No.  4 is  emptied,  and  so  on  in  rotation,  there  being  always  one 
tank  full  of  fresh  caliche , and  one  being  emptied.  There  is  an  obvious 
economy  of  heat  in  this  process,  and  a very  complete  extraction  of 
the  nitrate,  not  more  than  five  per  cent,  remaining  in  the  great  mass 
of  ripio,  or  refuse.  But  to  discuss  the  advantages  and  disadvantages 
of  the  systems  that  have  been  and  are  employed,  and  to  explain  the 
why  and  wherefore  of  details  of  the  process,  would  lead  us  into  a lab- 
yrinth of  technical  minutiae  where  both  the  patient  reader  and  our- 
selves might  lose  our  way.  For  the  general  comprehension  of  the 
matter  the  above  notes  will,  we  think,  suffice. 


TRUCKS  OVER  CRUSHERS  AT  “LA  PRIM1TIVA.” 


THE  NITRATA  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA. 


l/l 


Now  we  pass  to  the  second  operation  of  decantation,  which  is  sim- 
ply running  off  the  dense  liquid  into  settling  tanks,  or  chulladores , 
and  thence  into  crystallizing  tanks,  or  bateas.  In  the  Tarapaca  dis- 
trict the  liquid  obtained  is  so  pure  and  so  dense  that  the  cooling 
tanks  are  often  dispensed  with,  and  the  liquid  caldo , or  broth,  as  it  is 
termed,  is  run  directly  into  the  crystallizing  tanks,  along  a canal 
marked  A in  our  plan.  These  bateas  are  placed  on  frames  of  wood 
or  iron  about  six  feet  above  the  ground.  Each  batea  is  filled,  and  in 
the  course  of  two  or  three  days  the  crystallization  is  complete,  and  the 
bottom  and  sides  of  the  receptacle  are  covered  with  nitrate.  The 
water  that  remains,  or  agua  vieja,  is  then  run  off  into  a reservoir, 
whence  it  is  pumped  up  again  to  be  used  in  the  boiling  tanks.  The 
bateas  are  often  provided  with  sloping  side  platforms,  on  to  which 
the  nitrate  is  shovelled  and  left  to  drain  completely  before  it  is  piled 
up  in  the  cauc/ias,  packed  in  sacks,  and  loaded  on  the  railway  trucks, 
which  carry  it  to  the  ports  of  Iquique  or  Pisagua. 

The  aguas  viejas  produced  and  employed  in  the  manufacture  of 
nitrate  of  soda  contain  a certain  quantity  of  iodine  in  the  form  of 
iodate  of  soda,  generally  about  i per  1000,  or  one  gramme  of  iodine  in 
a litre  of  agzia  vieja . In  many  of  the  ojicinas  this  iodine  is  extracted 
by  a very  simple  and  interesting  process.  The  aguas  viejas  from  the 
bateas  are  deposited  in  wooden  baths,  and  the  iodine  precipitated  by 
the  application  of  a quantity  of  bisulphite  of  soda.  The  bisulphite  is 
obtained  by  passing  fumes  of  sulphur  or  sulphurous  acid  through  a 
solution  of  carbonate  of  soda.  The  sulphur  is  brought  mostly  from 
Italy,  and  in  smaller  quantities  from  the  Andes,  where  there  are  vast 
deposits  still  to  be  worked  when  economical  means  of  transport  have 
been  provided.  The  carbonate  of  soda  is  made  on  the  spot  by  burn- 
ing nitrate  and  coal-dust  in  an  open  cylindrical  furnace,  from  which 
the  carbonate  or  sal  natron  runs  into  a cylindrical  receptacle  on  a 
lower  level.  Every  night  just  after  sunset  you  see  the  pampa  dotted 
with  these  brilliant  white  bonfires,  each  ojicina  needing  a daily  supply 
of  the  substance,  either  for  its  iodine  house,  or  for  purifying  its  boiler 
water,  or  for  both  purposes.  The  mixing  of  the  bisulphite  with  the 
agua  vieja  is  effected  in  the  wooden  baths  by  means  of  compressed- 
air  blowers,  or  more  primitively  by  means  of  revolving  paddles  turned 
by  hand.  When  once  the  precipitation  has  taken  place,  the  water  is 
drawn  off,  neutralized,  and  returned  to  the  tanks,  whence  it  passes 
again  through  the  nitrate  cachuchos.  The  iodine  is  also  drawn  off. 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


washed,  filtered,  and  pressed  into  cakes,  which  are  placed  in  iron 
retorts,  the  neck  of  which  runs  into  a series  of  fire-clay  pipes  of  suffi- 
cient length  to  cool  and  sublimate  the  vapors,  which  are  collected  in 
the  form  of  beautiful  violet  crystals,  packed  in  barrels,  and  shipped. 

In  order  to  make  the  theoretical 
description  of  the  manufacture  of 
nitrate  more  vivid,  we  must  refer  the 
reader  to  our  illustrations,  where  they 
will  see  some  of  the  details  of  the 
work  and  the  ensemble  of  an  oficina, 


TRUCKS  BRINGING  CALICHE  TO  BOILING  TANKS. 


with  its  black  chimneys,  its  terraces  of  red  tanks  discolored  with 
drippings  and  stalactites  of  nitrate,  its  labyrinthine  systems  of  pipes 
and  valves,  and  its  mountains  of  snow-white  salts  piled  up  in  the 
canchas  ready  for  the  market.  The  oficina  of  “ La  Primitiva  ” is  the 
largest  yet  established,  and  for  the  benefit  of  readers  of  a practical 
and  precise  turn  of  mind  I will  give  a summary  of  its  capacity.  In 


THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA. 


173 


“ La  Primitiva  ” everything  is  duplicated ; there  are  two  sets  of  ma- 
chinery, complete  and  distinct,  each  set  consisting  of : Three  crushers, 
worked  by  an  engine  of  36-horse-power.  Twelve  boiling  tanks,  or 
caclmchos , each  32  by  6 feet,  and  9 feet  deep,  provided  with  coils  of 
five  turns  of  drawn -steel  pipe  3 inches  in  diameter.  Six  settling 
tanks,  used  only  for  making  refined  nitrate  of  96  per  cent.,  ordinary 
nitrate  being  95  per  cent.  Four  relave  tanks,  whence  the  water  is 
pumped  back  to  the  higher  level  by  centrifugal  pumps.  Semicylin- 
drical  canals  to  carry  the  liquor  to  the  80  crystallizing  tanks,  measur- 
ing 18  by  18  feet,  with  a depth  of  from  2 feet  9 inches  to  3 feet  3 
inches,  the  slope  being  made  to  facilitate  draining  the  nitrate.  Each 
of  these  tanks  has  a cubic  capacity  of  960  feet,  and  holds  320  quintals, 
or  34  pounds  to  the  cubic  foot.  Six  boilers,  30  by  7 feet  each,  with 
two  flues,  of  the  Lancashire  type,  whence  the  steam  is  carried  up  in 
an  1 i-inch  pipe,  and  the  condensed  water  produced  in  the  coils  of  the 
boiling  tanks  returned  to  the  boilers  in  a 4-inch  pipe  without  a feed- 
pump. Three  reservoirs  for  agua  vieja , or  mother-liquor,  on  the  lower 
level,  and  4 reservoirs  on  the  upper. 

The  wells  that  supply  the  oficina  with  1 20,000  to  1 30,000  gallons 
a day  are  distant  nearly  four  miles  across  the  pampa,  where  there  is  a 
steam-pumping  station  and  reservoirs  connected  by  5-inch  pipes  with 
the  establishment. 

The  two  sets  of  machinery,  as  above  set  forth,  have  a maximum 
productive  capacity  of  10,000  quintals  a day,  with  a consumption  of 
about  1000  quintals  of  coal,  the  proportion  being  one  ton  of  coal  to 
produce  ten  tons  of  nitrate. 

The  nitrate  grounds,  or  calicheras,  of  “ La  Primitiva”  cover  a strip 
of  land  4J  miles  long  by  a half-mile  wide,  and,  owing  to  their  extent,  it 
has  been  found  necessary  to  use  rails  and  locomotives  to  bring  in  the 
caliche  to  the  crushers.  Within  half  a mile  radius  of  the  oficina  carts 
and  mules  alone  are  used,  but  outside  that  radius  the  carts  and  mules 
carry  the  caliche  to  the  trucks  that  run  on  sections  of  feet  gauge, 
with  gradients  of  i to  3J  per  cent.  There  are  5 miles  of  railway,  3 
locomotives,  and  200  trucks  in  use.  When  “ La  Primitiva”  is  in  full 
work  it  employs  1400  men,  who  live  in  two  villages,  and  earn  on  an 
average  $3  paper  a day,  while  the  tank  men  make  as  much  as  $5 
paper,  all  the  work  being  by  contract  and  by  the  piece.  Finally,  we 
may  add  that  the  caliche  is  transported  by  forty  carts  and  320  mules, 
and  that  the  whole  oficina  is  lighted  by  electricity,  and  goes  on  night 


174 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  day,  as  do  the  other  oficinas , month  after  month  and  year  after 
year,  for  the  boiling  processes  cannot  be  interrupted  in  their  eternal 
rotation. 

While  still  concerned  with  technical  matters  I may  mention  a 
very  interesting  piece  of  engineering  work  accomplished  in  connec- 
tion with  the  oficina  of  Agua  Santa,  which,  although  situated  on  the 
line  of  the  nitrate  railways,  uses  other  means  of  transporting  its 
nitrate  to  the  sea.  From  the  oficina  a cart  road  19}  miles  long  leads 
to  the  top  of  the  coast  Cordillera,  where  it  dips  down  to  the  sea,  and 
from  this  point  to  the  little  bay  of  Caleta  Buena  an  inclined  plane  has 
been  constructed  with  tracks  of  2%  feet  gauge.  The  top  of  the  in- 
clined plane  is  2500  feet  above  the  sea,  and  the  total  length  of  the 
plane  is  1900  yards,  divided  into  three  nearly  equal  sections,  broken 
by  terraces.  The  gradient  of  the  top  and  middle  sections  is  28  per 
cent.,  and  that  of  the  lower,  52  per  cent.  The  cars  carry  each  100 
quintals  of  nitrate,  and  could  bring  up  45  per  cent,  return  cargo  if 
necessary.  The  cars  work  entirely  by  gravitation,  the  controlling  ma- 
chinery, or  brakes,  on  each  section  being  a Fowler  clip  pulley  of  the 
same  system  as  that  invented  for  use  in  steam-ploughs.  The  hauling 
tackle  for  the  cars  is  also  steel  wire  plough  rope  1 inch  in  diameter. 
The  down  cargo  is  nitrate,  and  the  up  cargo  wood,  coal,  and  provisions. 
At  the  bottom  of  the  incline  is  a mole,  along  which  the  trucks  run  out 
to  the  ships;  but  instead  of  weighing  the  sacks  of  nitrate,  truck,  and 
all,  the  customs  official  in  uniform  insists  upon  having  each  sack  lifted 
out,  weighed  separately,  and  then  reloaded  on  the  truck.  Progressive 
as  Chili  is  in  many  things,  she  is  sadly  behindhand  in  the  management 
of  her  seaports,  and  peculiarly  deficient  in  moles.  The  Pacific  ports 
are  fearful  places.  We  have  already  spoken  of  Iquique  and  its  wading 
wharfmen.  At  Pisagua  things  are  still  more  primitive.  Goods  are 
carried  from  the  shore  to  the  lighters  on  balsas , which  are  queer 
double  canoes  made  of  inflated  seal-skins.  It  requires  four  seal-skins 
to  make  a canoe  which  will  hold  five  sacks  of  nitrate  and  the  boatman 
astraddle  in  the  stern,  with  his  feet  dangling  in  the  water  and  toiling 
heavily  with  a double-ended  paddle,  like  some  belated  Esquimau. 

After  seeing  the  backward  and  semi-barbarous  conditions  of  life  in 
the  Pacific  ports,  one  is  agreeably  surprised  to  find  in  the  pampa  the 
refinements  of  a London  drawing-room  and  the  amusements  of  an 
English  country-house.  No  more  striking  example  could  be  found  of 
the  English  faculty  of  transplanting  a bit  of  England  into  the  midst 


A CALICHE  CART. 


THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA. 


1 77 


of  the  desert  than  the  houses  in  the  pampa  of  Tamarugal.  In  the 
pampa  the  manager  of  an  oficina  and  his  assistants,  almost  exclusively 
Englishmen,  are  lodged  in  a house  provided  and  kept  up  by  the  pro- 
prietors, whether  individuals  or  companies,  and  form  together  a more 
or  less  numerous  family,  comprising  very  often  two  or  three  ladies 
and  some  children.  Some  of  these  houses  are  handsomely  furnished, 
lighted  with  electricity,  provided  with  every  comfort  that  an  exacting 
Englishman  can  demand,  and  adapted  for  offering  ample  hospitality  to 
visitors,  who  are  always  welcome.  In  the  drawing-room  the  ladies 
exercise  the  same  refining  influence  as  they  would  at  home ; in  the 
dining-room  the  table  is  served  with  English  correctness ; in  the  bed- 
rooms a stock  of  novels  with  the  familiar  stiff  board  covers  and  sen- 
sational pictures  of  passionate  heroines  offers  a soporific  to  the  uneasy 
sleeper;  other  illustrated  papers  and  magazines  and  the  ubiquitous 
Punch  are  seen  lying  in  handy  places ; indeed,  if  Mr.  Du  Maurier 
happened  to  be  banished  to  the  pampa  of  Tamarugal  he  could  still 
continue  to  find  types  and  incidents  for  his  drawings;  athletic  Eng- 
lishmen wearing  clothes  that  fit  them,  and  young  ladies  who  play 
lawn-tennis  in  provokingly  coquettish  costumes,  and  ride  like  Ama- 
zons across  the  dusty  plains  to  pay  visits  in  the  neighboring  establish- 
ments. Certainly  life  in  the  pampa  is  far  from  being  gay,  but  never- 
theless these  healthy  and  strong  - willed  English  exiles  of  industry 
seem  to  be  quite  happy,  a fact  to  which  the  delightful  climate  doubt- 
less contributes  not  a little. 

The  corrugated  iron  dwellings  of  the  workmen  present  a strong 
contrast  with  the  correctness  and  comfort  of  the  manager's  house.  As 
each  oficina  gathers  around  it,  women  and  children  included,  from 
one  to  three  thousand  souls,  there  is  quite  a village  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  works.  It  consists  invariably  of  a few  rows  of  corru- 
gated iron  sheds,  at  the  back  of  which  the  tenants  build  out  huts  of 
poles  and  old  bags,  where  they  prefer  to  spend  their  time  rather  than 
in  the  iron  rooms  heated  by  the  unclouded  sunshine  of  the  rainless 
desert.  The  villages  always  swarm  with  dogs,  donkeys,  and  Bolivian 
women,  and  the  last  assemble  twice  a day  round  the  fountain  where 
distilled  water  is  sold  to  them  morning  and  afternoon,  and  also  at  the 
barred  window  of  the  pulperia,  or  general  store,  where  all  their  wants 
are  supplied  by  the  provident  proprietors  of  the  oficina.  In  the 
pampa  the  old  truck  system  or  something  equivalent  prevails  in  all 
the  oficinas , and  apparently  must  prevail  still,  the  conditions  of  labor 


I/S 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


their  wives,  furniture,  sewing-machines,  accordions,  and  all  sorts  of 
articles.  These  stores  are  carried  on  with  a view  to  making  a profit 
out  of  the  sales,  and  not  merely  for  the  accommodation  of  the  work- 
men. We  may  say,  further,  that  through  the  pulperia  the  company 
calculates  to  make  a profit  of  ten  dollars  on  an  average  from  each 
workman.  From  another  point  of  view  we  may  say  that  sixty  per 
cent,  of  the  earnings  of  the  men  are  spent  in  the  company’s  store,  and 
the  other  forty  per  cent,  wasted  in  drink  and  gambling,  either  inside 
the  camp  or  in  neighboring  villages.  Very  few  of  the  workmen  save 
any  money;  many,  of  them  are  fearful  gamblers  and  the  victims  of 
“ professionals,”  who  make  a specialty  of  the  pampa,  and  nearly  all  of 
them  are  prone  to  drinking  chicka  and  adulterated  spirits,  which  pro- 
voke wild  cnecas  that  last  for  several  days.  Withal  they  are  not  un- 
picturesque,  and  their  women  folk  with  their  gaudy  baize  skirts  and 
queer  jaunty  hats  often  form  effective  groups  against  the  arid  back- 


and  the  nature  of  the  laborer  being  peculiar.  However,  the  ojicina 
prohibits  any  trading  within  its  grounds,  except  in  vegetables  and 
fruit,  and  the  men  are  obliged  to  buy  their  food  and  drink  in  the  pul- 
pcria,  which  also  holds  at  their  disposal  clothes  for  themselves  and 


PRETTY  SEMI-BOLIVIANS. 


THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA. 


179 


ground  of  arid,  sunny  distance.  The  Bolivian  trading  women  also 
look  very  paintable  as  they  squat  on  their  heels  in  the  shadow  of  a 
galvanized  iron  wall  waiting  for  customers  for  their  fruit,  which  is 
one  of  the  pleasant  surprises  of  the  pampa.  Thanks  to  the  oasis  of 
Pica,  fine  grapes  are  abundant,  also  other  fruits  and  vegetables.  Be- 
tween Pozo  Almonte  and  Pica  there  is  another  oasis  of  a curious 
nature  near  the  wood  of  Tirana,  where  there  are  large  beds  of  salt,  or 
salares.  The  top  crust  of  salt  is  removed  to  a depth  of  three  or  four 
feet,  until  moisture  is  reached,  and  then  alfalfa  is  sown,  from  which 
crops  are  obtained  for  four  or  five  years  in  succession.  After  this  pits 
are  dug  to  a greater  depth,  and  algarrobas,  or  locust -beans,  are  grown 
for  fattening  cattle.  The  places  where  this  system  of  subsoil  cultiva- 
tion is  practised  are  called  canchones. 

If  any  kind  reader  has  had  the  patience  to  follow  me  thus  far  he 
must  have  frequently  asked  what  is  the  good  of  talking  at  such  length 
about  nitrate  of  soda  ? What  is  the  use  of  it  ? Who  cares  about  it  ? 
What  is  nitrate  ? These  questions  are  appropriate.  If  nitrate  were 
of  use  only  in  the  manufacture  of  gunpowder,  perhaps  it  would  not 
have  been  worth  while  travelling  across  the  dusty  pampa  and  prying 
into  other  people’s  business  as  I did.  Still,  even  if  that  were  the  case, 
I should  not  regret  having  visited  a tract  of  country  so  rich  in  rare 
physical  phenomena  as  the  province  of  Tarapaca.  But  there  are 
other  reasons.  Nitrate  has  been  found  to  be  an  excellent  artificial 
fertilizer,  and  its  use  for  this  purpose  is  destined  to  become  more  and 
more  extensive.  The  French,  German,  and  English  experts  who  have 
experimented  and  written  upon  the  subject,  and  whose  observations 
have  been  summed  up  and  presented  in  a lucid  pamphlet  by  Professor 
Wagner,  of  Darmstadt,  show  that  nitrogen  is  one  of  the  essential  nutri- 
ent substances  of  plants,  that  no  crop  can  flourish  without  a supply  of 
nitrogen  from  the  soil,  that  farm-yard  manure  is  rarely  sufficient  to 
supply  the  cultivated  plant  with  the  nitrogen  it  requires  to  produce 
crops  securing  the  highest  possible  clear  profit,  and  that  the  practical 
farmer  must  therefore  have  recourse  to  artificial  manure.  The  two 
most  important  nitrogenous  manures  are  nitrate  of  soda  and  sulphate 
of  ammonia.  Here  again  I fear  to  weary  the  general  reader  with  spe- 
cial and  technical  matters  of  interest  only  to  the  agriculturist,  and 
therefore  refer  those  who  are  interested  to  Dr.  Wagner’s  pamphlet, 
Nitrate  of  Soda  ; Its  Importance  and  Use  as  Manure  (London  : Whit- 
taker & Co.,  1887),  where  much  information  will  be  found  concerning 


i8o 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


the  application  of  nitrate  to  cereals,  root  crops,  and  tobacco.  The 
growing  increase  of  the  quantities  of  nitrate  exported  to  the  United 
States  would  indeed  seem  to  indicate  that  the  American  farmer  is  be- 
ginning to  pay  some  attention  to  scientific  farming.  The  statistics  are 
as  follows : 


Year. 

Spanish  quintals  of  100 

Value  in  United  States 

pounds. 

gold. 

1887 

1,564,950.20 

$2,135473  20 

1888 

1,474,920.15 

2,356,241  24 

1889 

2,141,259.52 

3,158,799  60 

The  quantity  of  iodine  exported  to  the  United  States  was  as 
follows : 


Year. 

Pounds  avoirdupois. 

Value  in  United  States 
gold. 

1887 

57.706 

$72,022  01 

1888 

76493 

108,226  61 

1889 

104,338 

191,117  23 

The  total  exports  of  nitrate  of  soda  from  Chili  during  the  past 
three  years  have  been  as  follows : 


Year. 

Spanish  quintals  of  100 

Value  in  United  States 

pounds- 

gold. 

1887 

15.299,655 

$21,595,983 

1888 

16,682,066 

25,060,170 

1889 

20,606,454 

30,403,515 

The  above  totals  include,  of  course,  the  exports  to  the  United 
States.  The  exporting  ports  for  nitrate  in  Chili  are  Pisagua,  Iquique, 
Caleta  Buena,  Junin,  Tocopilla,  Antofagasta,  Taltal,  and  Puerto  Oliva. 
The  chief  European  ports  to  which  shipments  are  made  are  Liverpool 
and  Hamburg,  the  whole  being  sent  to  the  United  Kingdom  and  the 
European  Continent,  with  the  exception  of  that  sent  to  the  United 
States.  Of  this  latter,  in  1889,  1,797,417  quintals  were  shipped  to 
the  east  coast,  and  223,394  quintals  to  California. 

The  nitrate  question  is  one  of  vital  importance  in  Chilian  finances, 
inasmuch  as  the  royalty  levied  on  exported  nitrate,  namely,  $1  60 
Chilian,  at  38  pence  per  metric  quintal  of  100  pounds,  is  the  most  im- 
portant item  in  the  revenues  of  the  State,  producing  an  amount  even 
superior  to  that  of  the  general  import  duties  all  together.  Thus, 


THE  NITRATE  DESERT  OF  TARAPACA. 


1 8 1 


in  the  budget  estimates  for  1890,  the  rentas  amount  to  a total  of 
$23,010,000  Chilian  paper,  of  which  sum  $20,900,000  are  produced 
by  nitrate  royalties,  while  in  the  total  produced  by  taxes,  namely, 
$22,995,000,  the  general  import  duties  figure  for  $20,655,000.  Fur- 
thermore, it  is  believed  by  the  Chilians  that  far  from  diminishing  as  a 
fiscal  element  and  as  an  international  return,  nitrate  will  go  on  in- 
creasing in  importance  in  future  years,  and  will  exercise  a consid- 
erable influence  on  the  material  and  economical  progress  of  the 
country. 

Everything  that  tends  to  extend  and  popularize  the  use  of  nitrate 
in  the  agricultural  countries  of  the  world,  it  is  argued,  will  contribute 
to  the  advance  of  Chili,  because  the  increase  of  State  revenues  thus 
obtained  will  assure  the  realization  of  various  public  works,  which  in 
turn  will  augment  the  national  wealth,  cheapen  interior  transport, 
make  communications  easier,  reduce  the  cost  of  loading  and  unload- 
ing, and  give  a solid  basis  to  the  commerce  and  industry  of  the  re- 
public. At  the  same  time  the  increase  of  the  revenue  will  enable 
Chili  to  pay  off  her  debt,  and  finally  to  return  to  specie  payments,  and 
to  “that  metallic  currency  which  is  the  most  legitimate  and  natural 
aspiration  of  the  country.”  “ Given  the  actual  situation  of  Chili,”  says 
the  Memoria  del  Ministro  de  Hacienda , presented  to  Congress  in 
1889,  “now  that  the  importance  of  copper  and  wheat — formerly  the 
principal  returns — has  been  to  a great  extent  lost,  and  that  of  silver 
considerably  reduced,  nitrate  has  come  to  be  the  principal  article  of 
exportation,  and  the  basis  on  which  the  foreign  commerce  of  Chili 
rests.”  Considering  the  vast  extent  of  nitrate-bearing  land,  and  the 
number  of  oficinas  in  activity  besides  those  belonging  to  the  State, 
the  Government  believes  that  the  production  may  be  greatly  devel- 
oped, the  only  limit  being  that  imposed  by  the  demand  of  the  market. 
The  Chilians,  however,  are  full  of  prudence,  and  remembering  that  it 
is  well  to  take  new  remedies  while  they  are  still  fashionable,  they  say 
with  touching  candor,  in  the  Memoria  above  referred  to,  that  “in  view 
of  discoveries  that  may  be  made  in  the  matter  of  artificial  fertilizers, 
it  is  desirable  to  take  advantage  of  the  moment,  and  to  transform  in 
as  short  a time  as  possible  these  unproductive  riches  of  the  nitrate 
beds  of  Tarapaca,  Antofagasta,  and  Atacama  into  means  of  national 
welfare,  force,  and  progress and  with  that  object  it  is  proposed  to 
establish  an  active  propaganda,  in  order  to  make  nitrate  and  its  merits 
known  all  over  the  world.  In  this  work  not  only  are  the  Chilian  con- 


182 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


suls  engaged  within  the  measure  of  their  means,  but  even  special  en- 
voys are,  I understand,  to  be  sent  out,  one  of  them  going  as  far  as 
China  as  a nitrate  missionary.  All  this  is  curious  and' worthy  of 
notice.  So  far  as  the  United  States  are  concerned,  if  it  be  found 
that  the  farmers,  the  tobacco  planters,  and  the  viticultors  of  California 
need  nitrate  in  annually  increasing  quantities,  as  statistics  would 
seem  to  show,  then  a great  step  will  have  been  made  towards  devel- 
oping greater  commercial  relations  with  Chili,  for  nitrate  is  the  only 
return  cargo  that  the  southern  republic  can  send  in  exchange  for 
American  machinery  and  miscellaneous  manufactures. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


I. 


LETTER  I received  on  landing  at  Callao  ended  with  the  follow- 


ing words:  “Hoping  that  you  are  enjoying  your  trip  and  get- 
ting a true  impression  of  these  republics,  gleaned  from  the  many  un- 
truths you  are  doubtless  flooded  with , I remain,  etc.”  That,  indeed,  is 
my  aspiration ; but  the  task  is  not  easy,  especially  if  you  listen  to 
what  people  tell  you  without  controlling  their  contradictory  state- 
ments by  a reference  to  facts  where  facts  are  accessible.  In  Peru 
facts  are  not  so  accessible  as  they  might  be.  For  the  want  of  means 
of  communication,  it  is  a long  and  difficult  business  to  travel  through 
the  country  and  see  things  for  one’s  self.  On  the  other  hand,  the  pov- 
erty-stricken Government  is  too  poor  to  publish  an  official  journal, 
much  more  to  issue  a geographical  and  statistical  synopsis  of  the 
country.  The  consequence  is  that  for  most  travellers  Peru  is  repre- 
sented by  Lima  and  the  port  of  Callao  alone,  and  the  rest  of  the  coun- 
try, whose  boundaries  even  are  undefined,  is  left  to  the  legends  and 
imaginations  of  enthusiastic  explorers.  For  my  part  I make  no  pre- 
tensions to  being  an  explorer.  All  that  I saw  in  Peru  was  that  which 
any  industrious  observer  might  have  seen.  My  impressions  were  un- 
biassed by  prejudices  or  preconceived  opinions.  I simply  saw  and 
was  interested. 

My  route  towards  the  Peruvian  capital  lay  along  the  coast  north- 
ward from  the  nitrate  desert  of  Tarapaca,  where  I had  made  my  last 
halt  for  observation  and  study.  After  a farewell  breakfast  with  an 
English  gentleman  resident  at  Iquique  in  the  flesh,  but  still  wander- 
ing in  memory  through  the  galleries  of  the  Louvre  and  the  cloisters 
of  Verona — a friend  of  a few  days’  standing,  whom  sympathy  had  at 
once  made,  as  it  were,  a friend  of  old  years — I left  the  brown  nitrate 
port  almost  with  regret,  and  went  on  board  the  steamer  Cachapoal , 
bound  for  Panama  and  intermediate  ports.  This  is  one  of  the  sad- 


i84 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


dening  moments  in  the  traveller’s  existence.  As  you  mount  the 
gangway,  followed  by  the  boatman  with  your  baggage,  you  feel  the 
brusque  change,  you  think  of  the  pleasant  people  on  shore  who  have 
kindly  entreated  you,  and  whom  you  will  probably  never  see  again. 
Then,  after  the  brief  diversion  of  finding  your  cabin,  and  immediately 
corrupting  the  steward,  with  a view  to  securing  creature  comforts  dur- 
ing the  voyage,  you  wander  up  and  down  the  deck  full  of  ennui , not 
knowing  anybody,  examining  the  queer-looking  people  who  are  your 
chance  companions,  and  wondering  who  they  are.  One  passenger, 
a dilapidated  and  anaemic  youth,  has  already  settled  down  in  a corner 
to  read  Zola’s  La  Tierra  in  a Spanish  translation,  decorated  with  a 
gaudy  chromo- lithographic  cover,  representing  the  man -brute  kissing 
the  woman-brute  in  a cornfield.  In  another  corner  half  a dozen  men, 

with  rough,  lumpy  faces,  hoarse  voices, 
and  badly  cut  clothes,  are  discussing 
politics  and  indulging  in  audible  and 
frequent  sputation.  These  gross  per- 
sons I afterward  discovered  to  be  Pe- 
ruvian deputies  and  senators.  On  an- 
other bench  three  priests  are  saying 
their  prayers.  Among  the  deck  pas- 
sengers I notice  a whole  family  busily 
engaged  in  making  up  their  beds 
with  good  mattresses  and  nice  clean 
white  sheets.  Fa- 
ther, mother,  son, 
and  two  daughters 
are  all  chattering 
over  the  work, 
which  is  beingdone 
in  a very  satisfac- 
tory way.  Later  in 
the  day  I found  the 
whole  family  in  bed 
— with  their  boots 
on. 

We  have  now 
started.  The  si- 

LOADING  CATTLE  ON  A STEAMER.  ldlCe  of  the  ship 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


185 


impresses  one.  There  is  no  sound  but  the  regular  thud  of  the  engine 
and  the  rush  of  the  water  that  dashes  against  the  ship’s  side,  like  an 
enemy  ever  to  be  repelled,  and  ever  returning  to  the  charge.  The  sun 
is  shining  brilliantly;  the  Pacific  continues  its  long  and  indolent  roll; 
the  red-brown  barren  coast  closes  the  horizon  and  deepens  in  the  dis- 
tance into  rich  purple  tones.  Day  after  day  the  scene  is  the  same — 
brown  and  arid  hills  along  the  coast ; occasionally  a white  patch  of 
guano  ; now  and  again  a town  and  port,  and  a narrow  fertile  valley  run- 
ning down  to  the  sea.  The  ship  anchors  at  a certain  distance  from 
the  shore.  The  captain  of  the  port  comes  on  board  and  exercises  his 
authority.  Then  the  boatmen  scramble  up  the  ship’s  side  to  take 
passengers  ashore.  Then  the  lighters  are  moored  alongside,  and  the 
monotonous  and  noisy  business  of  loading  and  unloading  begins. 
The  merchandise  consists  chiefly  of  flour,  fruit,  barrels  of  wine,  tall 
earthen  amphorae  of  pisco — a very  savory  grape  spirit — and  bullocks 
by  the  hundred.  These  animals  are  brought  to  the  ship’s  side  in 
lighters,  and  hoisted  on  board  by  means  of  a noose  slipped  under 
their  horns  and  hooked  on  to  the  chain  of  the  steam -winch.  The 
poor  brutes  are  knocked  about  in  a most  barbarous  style,  banged 
against  the  bulwarks,  swung  in  mid-air,  and  dropped  on  the  deck  with 
a crash  that  stuns  them,  and  necessitates  their  being  restored  to  con- 
sciousness by  the  violent  twisting  of  their  tails.  From  Valdivia  to 
Callao  the  coast  steamers  always  carry  each  more  than  three  hundred 
head  of  cattle,  the  southern  Chilian  ports  supplying  the  northern  min- 
eral and  nitrate  zone,  and  the  southern  Peruvian  ports  exporting  their 
beeves  to  Callao  and  the  capital. 

At  last  we  reach  Callao.  The  ship  is  moored  to  a decent  quay ; 
we  say  good-bye  to  the  genial  Yankee  captain,  with  whom  we  have 
become  very  friendly,  and  once  more  we  and  our  baggage  land  on  a 
foreign  shore  without  chart  or  compass.  Callao  offers  no  special  in- 
terest. It  is  a small  seaport,  with  quays,  warehouses,  rail  tracks  along 
the  wharves,  and  rather  picturesque  streets  lined  with  more  or  less 
shabby  houses,  many  of  them  having  iron  gratings  over  the  windows, 
in  the  old  Spanish  style.  There  is  nothing  to  see  and  nothing  to  do 
until  the  train  starts,  except  to  breakfast.  This  function  I accom- 
plished in  an  establishment  where  three-quarters  of  the  customers 
were  Englishmen.  The  shops,  too,  I noticed,  bore  Italian,  English, 
and  German  names.  Callao,  like  most  seaports,  is  polyglot. 

The  journey  from  Callao  to  Lima  takes  half  an  hour  by  train,  and 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


1 86 

you  have  the  choice  of  two  lines,  one  English  and  one  American,  but 
both  provided  with  American  rolling-stock.  The  landscape  is  green 
and  fertile,  and  the  eye,  wearied  by  the  long  spell  of  arid  rock  and 
sand  which  has  prevailed  since  we  left  Valparaiso,  greets  with  pleas- 
ure the  delicate  green  of  the  banana -leaf,  and  the  more  familiar  but 
not  less  welcome  sight  of  a field  of  common  grass.  So  we  arrive  at 
Lima  in  the  very  primitive  railway  station  of  the  English  company, 

hire  a negro  coachman, 
and  ride  to  a hotel,  reput- 
edly the  best  in  the  town. 
At  first  sight  it  seems  to 
be  a pleasant  house.  The 
dining-room  is  in  a court- 
yard dotted  with  flower- 
beds and  shaded  with  lux- 
uriant climbing  plants, 
between  whose  leaves  the 
sunlight  filters.  On  the 
first  floor,  around  a bal- 
cony, are  the  bedrooms. 
A second  and  a third  pa- 
tio are  similarly  arranged, 
and  would  delight  an  artist 
in  search  of  picturesque 
bits,  the  more  so  as  one  of 
the  menials  is  a Chinaman 
as  ugly  as  a netske,  another 
a negress,  and  others  semi- 
Indians,  C/iolos  and  Cho- 
cholo  types.  litas  with  copper  skins, 

black,  lank  hair,  and  im- 
bruted,  moony  countenances.  There  are  no  bells  to  call  these  indo- 
lent creatures;  you  stand  outside  your  door  and  clap  your  hands  in 
Spanish  fashion,  and  then  wait  patiently  to  be  waited  on.  In  reality 
this  picturesque  establishment  proved  to  be  a poor  and  irritating 
hostelry ; but  with  the  aid  of  those  two  talismanic  words,  so  consoling 
in  all  Hispano-American  countries,  caramba  and  paciencia,  I managed 
to  exist.  The  fat  old  French  washer- woman  who  directed  the  hotel 
seemed  proud  of  it,  and  she  informed  me  that  Sarah  Bernhardt,  who 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


187 

had  occupied  the  front  rooms  towards  the  plaza  during  her  visit  to 
Lima,  was  enchanted  with  the  place ; so,  of  course,  I had  nothing  to 
say  but  “ Caramba  !" 

Lima  is  picturesquely  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  Rimac,  a 
mountain  torrent,  at  the  end  of  a valley  whose  enclosing  hills  rise  on 
one  side  of  the  town.  The  streets  run  at  right  angles  for  the  most 
part,  the  main  thoroughfares  being  longitudinal.  The  centre  of 
movement  is  the  Plaza  Mayor,  which  is  planted  with  trees,  and  has  a 


PLAZA  MAYOR,  LIMA. 


small  garden  and  some  marble  statues  in  the  centre.  But,  like  many 
things  in  Lima,  the  plaza  is  bereft  of  its  former  glory,  the  Chilians 
having  removed  many  of  its  ornaments,  and  even  its  benches,  to  the 
plazas  in  Santiago  and  Concepcion.  On  one  side  of  the  Plaza  Mayor 
are  the  cathedral  and  the  archbishop’s  palace ; on  another,  the  Casa 
Verde,  or  Gobierno,  where  the  President  lives,  and  where  all  the 
affairs  of  the  republic  are  managed ; on  the  third  side  are  the  Muni- 
cipalidad , arcades,  and  shops ; and  on  the  fourth  side  likewise  arcades 
and  shops.  These  arcades  are  called  Portal  Escribanos  and  Portal 
Botoneros.  Here  are  the  dry-goods  stores,  the  money-changers,  and 
the  tobacconists,  who  also  sell  newspapers  and  lottery -tickets,  while 
over  the  Portales  are  the  French  and  Italian  club-houses,  the  English 
Phenix  Club,  and  just  round  the  corner  the  principal  Peruvian  club, 
called  the  Union,  a very  pleasant  house,  with  a long  glazed  balcony 
overhanging  the  street.  The  Casa  Verde  is  a low  building,  painted 
dark-green,  with  white  facings;  it  occupies  one  whole  side  of  the 


1 88  THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 

square,  but  has  no  architectural  merits,  and  no  particular  interest  be- 
yond the  fact  that  the  old  viceroys  lived  there,  and  that  the  great  cap- 
tain Pizarro  was  assassinated  in  one  of  the  rooms.  The  cathedral  is 
a very  large  and  curious  building  of  grand  proportions,  with  an  impos- 
ing fa9ade,  approached  by  a flight  of  stone  steps,  and  flanked  by  two 
towers  in  the  Spanish  Jesuit  style.  The  doors  are  studded  with  big 
Moorish  nails,  like  those  that  you  see  in  old  Spain,  in  Toledo,  and 
Cordoba.  Indeed,  everything  is  a reflection  of  old  Spain,  and  the 
peculiarity  of  Lima  is  precisely  this  fact,  that  it  has  remained  to  the 
present  day  a sixteenth -century  Spanish  town — the  best  specimen  of 
the  kind  in  South  America.  But,  like  Constantinople  and  other 
Eastern  towns  famed  for  their  picturesqueness,  Lima  will  not  bear 
close  examination.  The  cathedral  is  built  of  mud,  timber,  bamboo 
cane,  common  bricks,  sun-dried  bricks,  and  such  light  material,  faced 
with  stucco,  all  in  a bad  state  of  repair.  Inside  it  has  a vaulted 
Gothic  roof,  with  mouldings  of  white  plaster;  but  where  the  plaster 
has  peeled  off  you  see  that  the  whole  roof  is  a mere  light  framework 
of  wood,  covered  in  with  fine  bamboo  canes  and  twigs  laid  closely  to- 
gether lengthwise,  and  strengthened  by  cross-pieces.  On  the  inside 
these  canes  are  coated  with  white  plaster,  and  on  the  outside  with 
brown  mud,  and  this  is  sufficient;  for  at  Lima  it  never  rains,  and  the 
moisture  of  the  winter  mists  is  not  sufficient  to  penetrate  through  the 
thin  layer  of  earth  that  is  spread  over  the  flat  roofs  of  the  houses. 
All  the  churches  in  Lima,  more  than  seventy  in  number,  are  built  in 
the  same  way ; and  some,  like  those  of  La  Merced  and  of  the  Naza- 
renas,  have  most  elaborate  faqades,  adorned  with  ornate  twisted  col- 
umns, niches,  statues,  and  entablatures,  all  in  stucco-work.  The 
church  of  Santo  Domingo  has  a very  lofty  tower,  likewise  of  timber, 
lath,  and  plaster,  painted  white  to  imitate  marble,  and  enriched  with 
tier  after  tier  of  lapis  lazuli  pillars,  composed  of  stucco  painted  blue 
and  veined  with  yellow.  This  tower,  like  the  Giralda  of  Seville,  is 
surmounted  by  a metal  figure.  These  churches- are  all  rather  gaudily 
decorated  inside  with  a profusion  of  side  altars,  images  dressed  in  rich 
stuffs,  flowers,  candles,  and  drapery,  just  as  in  Spain.  Indeed,  as  you 
walk  about  Lima  you  are  constantly  making  the  remark  how  like  it  is 
to  Seville  or  Toledo,  only  it  is  not  so  good.  The  splendor  of  the 
churches  of  Lima  now  exists  only  in  memory,  for  during  the  war  with 
Chili  all  the  church  plate  was  sent  to  the  melting-pot,  and  most  of  the 
gold  and  silver  ornaments  in  private  hands  also.  The  demagogue 


THE  CATHEDRAL,  LIMA 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


191 

Nicolas  Pierola  distinguished  himself  in  collecting  ecclesiastical  riches 
at  that  time. 

On  the  whole,  the  finest  church  in  Lima  is  that  of  San  Francisco, 
which,  together  with  the  convent  and  the  adjacent  chapels  of  Soledad 
and  Milagro,  forms  an  immense  pile  near  the  Rimac.  Here,  again, 
the  architectural  proportions  and  general  silhouette  of  the  buildings 
are  very  imposing,  and  if  you  judged  from  a distance  or  from  a photo- 
graph, you  might  easily  imagine  the  structure  to  be  of  rich  white-and- 
black  marble.  But  no.  It  is  the  eternal  stucco,  plaster,  and  paint 
over  a basis  of  brick,  the  arches  and  framework  of  the  upper  belfries 
and  turrets  being  timber  and  cane  with  stucco  mouldings.  Many 
buildings  in  Lima  bear  the  marks  of  the  passage  of  the  victorious 
Chilians  or  of  civil  revolutionary  strife.  The  fa<;ade  of  the  cathedral 
is  pitted  with  bullet- holes,  but  the  towers  of  San  Francisco  have  suf- 
fered worst  of  all,  probably  beyond  repair.  It  appears  that  in  the 
course  of  a recent  revolution  one  of  the  leaders  took  up  a position  in 
the  towers  of  San  Francisco,  where  he  was  bombarded  by  artillery 
from  the  Casa  Verde.  Such  souvenirs  as  this  are  common  in  Lima. 
From  one  of  the  towers  of  the  cathedral  is  a projecting  beam,  from 
which  more  than  one  unsuccessful  political  aspirant  has  been  hung 
and  left  to  rot.  On  the  summit  of  the  hill  of  San  Cristobal  is  a fort 
which  the  demagogue  Nicolas  Pierola  built,  ostensibly  to  repel  the 
Chilians,  really  to  dominate  the  town  ; but  his  game  was  spoiled  by 
the  energy  of  the  Urban  Guard  of  foreign  residents,  who  marched  up 
the  hill  and  spiked  the  guns,  in  which  state  they  still  remain.  Now 
the  poor  towers  of  San  Francisco  look  very  battered  and  shabby. 
The  convent,  too,  retains  none  of  its  former  splendor,  and  for  want  of 
care  it  is  beginning  to  fall  to  ruin.  Nevertheless,  it  is  one  of  the 
most  interesting  monuments  in  Lima.  The  cloisters  are  especially 
noticeable.  They  are  built  with  a lower  and  an  upper  story  around  a 
garden  planted  with  bananas,  floripondios,  and  brilliantly-flowering 
shrubs,  now  growing  a little  wild.  The  lower  cloisters  are  lined  with 
panels  of  azulejos , the  finest  and  most  perfectly  preserved  that  I have 
seen,  even  finer  than  the  panels  in  Seville.  From  the  upper  cloister 
a staircase  leading  to  the  choir  of  the  church  is  surmounted  by  a 
Moorish  dome  of  geometrical  design,  composed  of  pieces  of  wood 
joined  together  with  groove  and  slot,  of  the  same  kind  of  work  as  the 
domes  and  ceilings  of  the  Alhambra,  and  of  the  Alcazar  at  Seville. 
The  choir  of  the  church  is  placed  at  the  end  opposite  the  altar,  and 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


192 


elevated  after  the  manner  and  model  of  the  choir  of  the  church  of  the 
Escorial,  and  adorned  with  richly-carved  stalls  and  wooden  statuettes. 
Here  the  Franciscan  monks,  with  their  brown  hooded  robes  and  san- 
dalled feet,  shuffle 
along  and  do  their 
devotions,  while  the 
body  of  the  church  is 
given  up  to  the  pub- 
lic. The  monks  are 
no  longer  numerous, 
not  more  than  fifteen 
or  twenty,  I am  told, 
just  sufficient  to  pre- 
vent the  convent  from 
being  closed,  and  I 
am  further  informed 
that  even  this  small 
number  has  to  be 
imported.  Nowadays 
monks,  priests,  and 
translations  of  French 
novels  are  the  princi- 
pal products  export- 
ed by  Spain  to  her 
former  colonies. 

Other  old  build- 
ings of  interest  in 
Lima  are  the  Capil- 
lita  del  Puente,  the 
oldest  church  in  the 
town,  dating  from  Pi- 

zarro's  time,  but  remarkable  only  for  its  antiquity;  the  Senate  House, 
which  is  the  room  where  the  Inquisition  used  to  hold  its  sittings;  the 
old  Puente  de  los  Desemparados,  which  connects  Lima  with  the  sub- 
urbs of  San  Lazaro  and  Malambo,  the  latter  inhabited  chiefly  by  ne- 
groes and  Chinese;  and  the  house  of  the  Torre  Tagle  family,  a photo- 
graph of  which  is  bought  by  every  tourist.  This  last  is  to  the  artistic 
eye  the  finest  house  in  Lima,  and  the  model  from  which  all  the  other 
houses  have  deviated  with  disadvantage.  It  is  built  of  stone,  with  a del- 


CHURCH  OF  I.A  MERCED,  LIMA. 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


193 


icately  carved  door-way  reaching  to  the  roof,  and  flanked  by  two 
glazed  balconies,  or  mir adores,  resting  on  elaborately- carved  brackets, 
while  the  lower  windows  are  barred  with  iron-work.  This  house, 
which  has  been  kept  in  good  preservation,  except  in  that  the  wood- 
work and  carving  have  been  painted  instead  of  oiled,  and  so  have  lost 
their  sharpness,  remains  a model  of  Hispano- Moorish  domestic  archi- 
tecture, and  as  such  is  worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  house-builders  of 
America.  The  Senate  House  also  contains  a magnificent  piece  of 
sixteenth-century  work  in  the  ceiling,  composed  of  rafters  and  con- 
soles of  hard  native  iron-wood  most  magnificently  and  elaborately 
carved  and  admirably  preserved.  Unfortunately,  the  modern  Limenos 
have  done  all  in  their  power  to  make  the  rest  of  the  room  ugly;  the 
walls  are  papered  red ; at  one  end  of  the  hall  is  a vulgar  tribune, 
where  the  senators  perorate  and  gesticulate  with  the  aid  of  the  tradi- 
tional glass  of  sugar-and- water ; along  each  side  are  two  rows  of 
chairs  of  American  manufacture,  with  cast-iron  legs  and  revolving 
seats;  and  on  the  wall,  in  an  indifferent  gilt  frame,  hangs  the  portrait 
of  President  Pardo,  who  was  shot  a few  years  ago  just  as  he  was  en- 
tering the  room. 

The  modern  monuments  of  Lima  are  not  numerous.  The  finest 
is  the  monument  and  column  in  memory  of  the  heroes  of  the  war  of 


THE  CLOISTER  OF  SAN  FRANCISCO,  LIMA. 


194 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


independence  and  of  the  great  day  of  May  2d.  This  is  the  work  of 
French  sculptors  and  bronze  founders.  The  cemetery  is  also  one  of 
the  show-places  of  Lima,  and  vies  with  that  of  Milan  in  the  number 
and  costliness  of  its  sculptured  tombs,  due  almost  exclusively  to  Ital- 
ian chisels.  The  Alameda  de  los  Descalzos,  with  its  beautiful  garden 
promenade  lined  with  colossal  statues,  and  the  Exposicion,  with  its 
highly  ornate  stucco  palace  and  its  fine  but  deserted  gardens,  perhaps 
complete  the  sights  of  Lima.  Alas ! the  Limenos  will  tell  you,  their 
city  is  not  what  it  used  to  be  before  the  war.  The  Chilians  sacked 
and  plundered  right  and  left ; they  killed  the  elephant  in  the  Exposi- 
cion  gardens  and  stole  the  lions ; they  carried  off  the  benches  and 
statues,  and  even  the  trees,  from  the  public  promenades ; they  appro- 
priated looking-glasses  and  clocks  in  private  houses,  books  and  pict- 
ures in  the  libraries,  ornaments  from  the  churches,  and  even  rails  and 
sleepers  from  the  railways.  They  respected  nothing,  but  left  Peru  in 
a state  of  material  and  financial  desolation,  of  which  traces  are  vis- 
ible on  all  sides  in  Lima  itself,  in  the  pleasure-resorts  of  Miraflores, 
Chorillos,  Baranco,  and  Ancon,  and  even  for  miles  up  the  Andine 
valleys,  where  roofless  houses  and  piles  of  ruins  attest  the  passage  of 
the  victor  and  the  persistent  poverty  of  the  vanquished. 

Lima  has  been  called  “ The  Pearl  of  the  Pacific,”  and  other  flatter- 
ing names.  In  the  old  days  of  the  viceroys  it  was,  beyond  doubt,  the 
finest,  as  it  was  the  richest,  city  in  New  Spain;  but  now  it  is  a sadly 
sullied  pearl,  a moribund  and  inert  place,  where  everything  bears  wit- 
ness to  decadence,  poverty,  and  almost  despair.  The  streets  swarm 
with  beggars,  and  the  majority  of  the  one  hundred  thousand  inhabi- 
tants of  the  capital  live  in  an  indigent,  primitive,  and  thoroughly  un- 
hygienic manner,  which  would  be  unendurable  were  it  not  for  the 
clemency  of  the  climate,  which  enervates  and  conduces  to  a languid 
and  indolent  state,  comparable  in  some  respects  to  the  fatalism  of  the 
Turk.  Indeed,  the  street  life  of  Lima  frequently  reminded  me  of  that 
of  Constantinople,  which  is  likewise  a city  of  stucco  monuments, 
barred  windows,  and  overhanging  miradores.  In  the  first  place  you 
find  a similar  abundance  of  money-changers,  who  have  their  count- 
ers open  to  the  street,  and  display  to  the  covetousness  of  the  impecu- 
nious a selection  of  gold  and  silver  coins  and  bank-notes,  mixed  up 
with  jewelry,  plate,  and  miscellaneous  bric-a-brac.  The  Lima  money- 
changers also  deal  in  lottery-tickets  and  in  huacas  — the  generic 
name  for  those  mummies,  bits  of  canvas,  domestic  utensils,  and  hid- 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


195 


eous  crockery -ware,  which  form  the  basis  of  Peruvian  antiquities. 
These  Imacas  ought  to  be  dug  up  among  the  ruins  of  the  ancient 
Inca  cities,  but  much  of  the  pottery  is  now  made  in  a modern  manu- 
factory at  Paita.  I have  always  noticed  that  the  scarcer  money  is  in 
a country,  and  the 
worse  the  state  of 
its  finances,  the 
more  numerous 
are  the  tables  of 
the  money-chang- 
ers.  The  evi- 
dence of  Lima 
confirms  this  ob- 
servation. The 
finances  of  the 
country  are  noto- 
riously in  a fearful 
state.  Although 
the  mountains  of 
Peru  are  full  of 
gold,  silver,  and 
other  precious 
metals,  there  is 
not  a native  gold 
coin  to  be  found 
in  the  country, 
except  as  a his- 
torical curiosity ; 
and  the  very  small 
amount  of  coin  in 
circulation  is  of 
the  most  primi- 
tive and  incon- 
venient kind,  con- 
sisting of  coarse  torre  tagle  house,  lima. 

copper  one  and 

two  cent  pieces  and  very  heavy  silver  dollars,  too  weighty  to  be  car- 
ried in  a civilized  man's  pocket.  The  consequence  is  an  extensive 
credit  system  and  the  use  of  bank  checks.  The  Limenos  prefer  to 


ig6 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


run  into  debt  freely  rather  than  be  burdened  with  a few  pounds  of 
silver  dollars. 

In  the  second  place  you  remark  the  rareness  of  carts,  and  the  use 
by  preference  of  mules  and  donkeys  as  beasts  of  burden.  All  day 

long  the  streets  are  full  of 
itinerant  venders,  many  of 
whom  come  in  from  the 
suburbs  and  the  country. 
The  milk  - woman,  a ne- 
gress  or  a Chola,  with  dark 
skin,  long  braids  of  black 
hair,  and  a white  straw 
Panama  hat  of  masculine 
shape,  sits  enthroned  on 
the  top  of  her  cans,  and 
often  carries  a baby  in  her 
arms;  or,  if  her  Indian 
blood  be  very  strong,  the 
baby  will  be  hung  on  her 
back  in  a pouch.  The 
water -seller,  or  aguador , 
rides  on  the  hind-quarters 
of  a donkey,  with  his  wa- 
ter-barrels in  front  of  him. 
The  bakers  use  square 
panniers  made  of  parch- 
ment stretched  on  a wood- 
en frame,  and  for  supple- 
mentary loads  a long  sack 
is  suspended  on  each  side 
of  the  mule  or  donkey. 
Fruit  - sellers  are  to  be 
found  at  every  street  corner,  squatting  in  the  shade,  with  piles  of 
grapes,  paltas , peaches,  granadillas,  mangoes,  bananas,  and  other 
fruit  before  them.  The  Desemparados  Bridge  is  a favorite  station 
for  the  fruit-women,  and  also  for  all  kinds  of  peddlers,  among  whom 
the  Chinaman  is  conspicuous.  In  Lima  the  Chinese  are  very  nu- 
merous; some  of  them  sell  water-ices  and  others  fruit,  which  they 
carry  in  Oriental  style  in  baskets  suspended  from  a long  bamboo 


MILK-WOMAN. 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


19  7 


pole  balanced  on  their  shoulder;  they  also  do  air  kinds  of  odd  work 
as  porters  and  servants,  but  their  specialty  is  keeping  cheap  res- 
taurants. The  Limenos  eat,  but  do  not  dine.  I may  even  go  fur- 
ther, and  say  that  they  never  will  dine  so  long  as  the  Hispano- 
American  system  of  leaving  house-keeping  entirely  to  the  servants 
remains  unreformed.  At  present  the  better  classes  of  society  give 
the  cook  two,  three,  or  more  dollars  every  day,  and  with  that  sum  the 
cook  provides  whatever  he  thinks  proper,  unadvised,  unenlightened, 
and  uncontrolled.  Most  of  the  people,  however,  live  like  pigs,  do  no 
cooking  at  home,  and  send  out  to  the  nearest  restaurant  to  buy  a dish 
or  two  of  something  that  defies  analysis.  John  Chinaman  is  the  ex- 
clusive restaurateur  of  the  poor,  of  the  working-classes,  and  of  the 
market  people.  Around 
the  principal  Mercado 
de  la  Concepcion,  in  par- 
ticular, Chinese  restau- 
rants and  shops  abound, 
each  one  decorated  with 
vertical  inscriptions 
written  on  black  or  or- 
ange-red paper.  Some 
of  the  merchants  and 
shopkeepers  are  well- 
dressed  and  good-look- 
ing Chinese,  with  ele- 
gant pigtails,  nicely- 
shaven  blue  temples, 
and  glossy  skins ; but 
the  vast  majority  of  the 
yellow  race  in  Lima  are 
coolies  of  the  lowest 
class,  who  wear  cotton 
trousers,  black  or  choco- 
late-colored blouses,  and 
Panama  hats.  Many  of 
them  have  no  pigtail, 
but  allow  their  hair  to 

grow  shaggy.  Others,  again,  are  miserably  emaciated  and  jaundiced 
by  the  abuse  of  opium.  There  is  a Chinese  theatre  at  Lima  and  a 


WATER-SELLER. 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


1 98 

pagoda.  The  origin  of  the  colony  is  the  importation  of  coolies  in 
former  years  to  work  the  guano  deposits  and  for  agricultural  labor. 
This  system  of  contract  labor,  which  was  virtual  slavery,  was  abol- 
ished by  law  only  a few  years  ago ; but  most  of  the  emancipated 
slaves  have  remained  in  the  country,  where  they  now  intermarry 
with  the  native  Chola  women,  and  form  peaceful  and  industrious 
citizens  and  model  fathers.  I am  informed  that  John  Chinaman’s 
qualities  as  a husband  and  a family  man  are  now  highly  appreciated 
by  the  native  ladies  of  the  lower  classes,  although  formerly  he  was 
looked  upon  with  horror. 

Negroes  also  abound  in  Lima  and  all  along  the  coast  of  Peru. 
They  are  likewise  emancipated  slaves  and  their  descendants,  and 
form  a very  turbulent,  shameless,  and  foul-mouthed  class,  especially  in 
the  seaports,  where  they  serve  as  stevedores.  In  Lima  they  are 
coachmen,  laborers,  and  loafers,  and,  together  with  their  large  woolly- 
headed women  and  grinning  children,  they  impart  a West  Indian  as- 
pect to  certain  quarters  of  the  town.  Besides  Chinese  and  negroes, 
you  see  in  the  streets  of  Lima  all  kinds  of  cross-breeds  and  all  shades 
of  skin,  from  Ethiopian  black,  chocolate,  copper,  red-brown,  and  yellow, 
to  the  sallow  white  skin  of  the  aristocratic  and  worn-out  Peruvian, 
and  the  opaque  pure  white  of  the  far-famed  Limena  beauties.  The 
intermixture  of  the  black,  white,  and  yellow  races  with  the  native  Ind- 
ians has  produced  more  than  twenty  degrees  of  hybridism,  to  distin- 
guish which  requires  an  expert.  In  Lima  the  pure  Indian  from  the 
mountains  is  rarely  seen,  and  when  he  and  his  wife  do  go  down  to  the 
capital,  they  prove  to  be  a stolid  and  imbruted  couple,  not  worthy  of 
any  particular  interest.  They  are,  however,  good  Catholics,  bow  re- 
ligiously before  the  gaudily-dressed  images  exhibited  at  the  church 
doors,  and  deposit  their  obole  in  the  tray  which  the  priests  present 
to  them. 

Given  this  excessively  mixed  population,  it  may  be  readily  con- 
ceived that  the  streets  of  Lima  present  a sufficiently  varied  and  pict- 
uresque scene.  The  town  itself  offers  from  almost  any  point  an 
equally  picturesque  frame  for  the  picture.  The  perspective  of  the 
streets  is  always  amusing,  thanks  to  the  projecting  miradorcs , to  the 
towers  of  the  churches,  which  always  appear  in  the  distance,  and,  in 
the  longitudinal  streets,  to  the  line  of  hills  and  the  Cerro  de  San  Cris- 
tobal, which  rise  above  houses  and  towers.  The  movement  is  com- 
posed of  the  elements  already  enumerated,  an  occasional  cart  with 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


199 


three  mules  harnessed  abreast,  a whistling  tram-way,  a closed  carriage 
drawn  by  two  horses  (in  Lima  open  carriages  seem  to  be  unknown, 
whether  they  be  public  or  private  conveyances),  and  foot-passengers, 
consisting  largely  of  women  wearing  black  mantas , which  form  at 
once  bonnet  and  shawl,  being  drawn  tightly  over  the  head  and  pinned 
behind  in  one  or  two  places.  This  black  manta  is  the  universal  cos- 
tume of  the  Lima  women  of  all  classes  in  the  early  hours  of  the  day; 
no  other  dress  is  seen  in  the  churches;  and  it  is  only  in  the  after- 
noon that  you  see  the  ladies  clad  in  the  current  modern  finery  which 
Paris  invents  and  distributes  to  the  whole  world.  Towards  five 
o’clock  the  Plaza  Mayor  and  the  main  streets,  called  Mercaderes  and 
Bodegones,  attain  their  maximum  of  animation,  which  is  almost  exclu- 
sively pedestrian,  for  the  Peruvians  are  now  too  poor  to  keep  car- 
riages. In  the  Mercaderes  and  the  Portales  of  the  plaza  the  ladies 


ON  THE  DESEMPARADOS  BRIDGE,  LIMA.  . 


200 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


flit  from  shop  to  shop,  buying,  or  longing  to  buy,  the  European  manu- 
factured goods  displayed  in  the  windows,  handling  the  moire,  the 
surah,  the  faille,  and  the  various  bright-colored  cotton  stuffs  that  are 
marked  down  to  tempt  them  as  a “ colosal  baratura .”  The  men,  sal- 
low-faced, anaemic,  poor  in  physique,  with  languid  eyes  and  showy 
cravats,  stand  on  the  corners  talking  politics  or  scandal,  and  staring  at 
the  women  as  they  pass.  The  newspaper  boys  cry:  “ El  Pais!”  “ El 
Constitucional ! “PI  Nacional /”  “El  Comercio  /”  and,  with  regrettable 
lack  of  commercial  morality,  many  of  them  try  to  palm  off  yesterday’s 
issue  by  artifices  of  guileful  folding  so  as  to  hide  the  date.  Monoto- 
nous voices  murmur  at  every  few  yards:  “ Mil  quinientos  soles  para 
mananap  “ Diez  mil  soles  para  miercoles ,”  “ Plata  para  luego These 
are  venders  of  lottery- tickets  — another  evidence  of  poverty  and  bad 
finances,  and  another  point  of  resemblance  between  modern  Lima 
and  modern  Madrid.  Yet  another  point  of  resemblance  is  the  groups 
of  bull -fighters,  with  short  jackets,  tight  trousers,  flat -brimmed  hats, 
and  heavy  watch-chains,  who  stand  on  the  street  corners  and  talk 
with  the  aficionados  about  their  feats  and  sucrtes  in  the  rings  of 
Madrid  and  Seville ; for  Lima  is  a great  place  for  tauromachy,  and  its 
Plaza  de  Acho  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  world.  Incidentally,  it 
may  be  mentioned  that  in  the  days  of  the  Inquisition  the  Hispano- 
American  heretics  used  to  be  burned  in  effigy  in  the  middle  of  this 
bull-ring. 

Every  traveller  who  visits  Lima  writes  enthusiastically  about  the 
charms  of  the  ladies,  and  attempts  to  analyze  the  characteristics  of 
their  features  and  gait.  All  that  has  been  said  in  praise  of  the  Lime- 
has  is  well  merited,  except  the  comparisons  which  would  give  them  a 
unique  position  in  the  hierarchy  of  feminine  beauty.  Pretty  ladies 
with  white  skins,  regular  features,  fine  liquid  black  eyes,  and  a well- 
ordained  distribution  of  flesh  are  to  be  seen  by  the  score  in  Lima ; 
but,  as  a rule,  it  seems  to  me  that  their  beauty  is  shown  to  singular 
advantage  by  the  extreme  simplicity  of  their  costume,  \vhich  allows 
only  the  face  to  be  seen,  the  whiteness  of  the  flesh  and  the  brilliancy 
of  the  eyes  being  set  off  by  the  contrast  of  the  dull  black  manta.  In 
modern  Parisian  costume  the  Limenas  look  less  remarkable,  and  from 
the  point  of  view  of  combined  beauty,  elegance,  and  vivacity,  I should 
be  inclined,  so  far  as  concerns  South  America,  to  give  the  first  place 
to  the  beauties  of  the  Banda  Oriental,  and  especially  of  its  capital, 
Montevideo.  Nevertheless,  far  be  it  from  me  to  disparage  the 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


201 


Limenas.  Furthermore,  in  order 
that  each  man  may  judge  for  him- 
self, our  illustrations  reproduce  the 
features  of  a few  of  the  prominent 
beauties  of  the  Peruvian  capital. 

As  regards  society  in  Lima  I 
have  nothing  to  say,  having  had  no 
adequate  means  of  observing.  For 
that  matter,  I think  that  in  most 
books  of  travel  the  chapter  on  soci- 
ety might  be  omitted  with  advant- 
age, because  it  generally  misin- 
forms the  reader  and  irritates  the 
natives.  In  this  democratic  nine- 
teenth century  “society,"  in  the  old 
and  aristocratic  sense  of  the  term, 
is  disappearing.  People  of  a cer- 
tain class  and  certain  means  do 
certain  things  at  certain  times  be- 
cause other  people  of  the  same 
class  and  the  same  means  do  likewise.  There  is  a universal  ten- 
dency towards  the  equalization  of  luxury  and  of  the  exterior  manifes- 
tations of  refinement.  Social  habits 
are  formed  on  the  models  estab- 
lished by  two  or  three  great  centres 
of  civilization,  and  all  the  life  that 
you  find  elsewhere  is  a more  or  less 
pale  reflection  of  the  real  article. 
With  the  increase  of  facilities  of 
communication  originality  of  all 
kinds  decreases,  and  the  search  for 
local  color  becomes  more  and  more 
hopeless.  Well  - to  - do  Peruvians 
and  Chilenos  send  their  sons  to  be 
educated  in  Germany  or  France; 
their  women  folk  play  Beeth.oven's 
sonatas  and  applaud  tenors  and 
prima  donnas  during  the  Italian  op- 
era season ; the  men  wear  tall  hats 


202 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  drink  American  cocktails,  mixed  at  their  Union  Club  by  the  imi- 
tative talent  of  a semi-Indian  waiter;  the  ladies  wear  tall  hats  or  short 
hats  as  the  fashion  may  direct,  and  devote  much  attention  to  the 
ultimas  novedades  de  Paris.  The  Peruvians  also  follow  the  modern 
fashion  of  deserting  their  roomy  and  comfortable  town -houses  and 
spending  the  summer  at  inhospitable  sea-side  places  like  Ancon, 
Chorillos,  Barranco,  and  Miraflores,  where  they  live  in  wooden  shan- 
ties amid  the  naked  ruins  that  still  remain  to  remind  them  of  the 
victory  of  the  invading  Chilians.  The  whole  civilized  life  of  Peru  is 
imitative  and  without  spontaneity  or  originality.  The  women  swoon 
over  “II  Travatore;”  the  men  consider  Georges  Ohnet  to  be  a great 
genius;  and  the  boys  swear  only  by  Jules  Verne. 

One  of  the  rare  salient  characteristics  of  the  Limenas  is  their 
fidelity  to  the  Church.  They  are  all  assiduous  worshippers,  and  the 
churches  are  always  full  of  devout  women,  whose  piety  is  never  ag- 
gressive, but  always  indulgent  to  the  impiety  of  others,  and  in  itself 
naive  and  spontaneous.  The  loving  and  mystic  temperament  of  the 
Limena  is  a survival  of  the  ages  of  faith  when  saints  lived  and  were 
canonized,  like  the  patroness  of  Lima,  that  Santa  Rosa  whose  short 
and  simple  life  is  related  so  touchingly  in  the  old  chronicles.  The 
biographer  not  only  tells  us  about  the  goodness,  the  mortifications, 
and  the  charity  of  Santa  Rosa,  but  also  celebrates  the  grace  of  her 
walk,  the  smallness  of  her  hands  and  feet,  the  delicate  turn  of  her 
neck,  the  cameo-like  fineness  of  her  profile,  the  brilliancy  of  her  eyes, 
“ black,  large,  and  veiled  by  long  lashes,  on  the  tip  of  which  a tear 
trembles,  ready  to  fall.”  The  admiration  of  the  contemporaries  of 
Maria  Flores,  canonized  under  the  name  of  Santa  Rosa,  seems  to 
have  been  addressed  as  much  to  her  beauty  as  to  her  virtues.  Her 
presence  in  a society  constantly  perturbed  by  conspiracies  and  intes- 
tine wars  is  certainly  curious.  Santa  Rosa  remains  now,  as  she  was 
three  hundred  years  ago,  the  favorite  model  of  the  painters  and  image 
carvers ; and  among  all  the  dolls  that  adorn  Peruvian  churches  the 
figure  of  the  tender  flower  saint  is  always  the  best,  and  often  quite  a 
work  of  art,  in  spite  of  the  wigs,  skirts,  and  stoles  of  brocade  and  the 
crowns  of  paper  flowers  that  are  lavished  with  too  generous  pro- 
fusion. In  front  of  the  chapel  of  Santa  Rosa  a group  of  kneeling 
women  is  never  wanting,  and  the  fete-day  of  this  saint  is  the  grandest 
in  the  year.  The  recent  celebration  of  her  third  centenary  was  the 
occasion  of  a whole  month’s  rejoicings  in  the  streets  of  Lima,  which 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


203 


were  decorated  with  lanterns,  banners,  and  garlands  of  flowers  in  a 
most  picturesque  manner. 

Besides  the  churches,  the  Limenas  have  many  houses  of  retreat — 
casas  de  ejercicios — where  they  may  retire  to  pious  meditation  amid 
very  crude  frescos  and  images.  There  are  also  several  convents 
for  women.  The  monasteries,  on  the  other  hand,  are  but  a shadow 
of  what  they  were  in  the  colonial  times.  Their  decadence  is  irre- 
mediable, and  a law  now  in  force  is  gradually  pronouncing  the  sup- 
pression of  the  old  national  religious  associations,  though  the  for- 
eign orders  are  allowed  to  bring  recruits  from  abroad.  At  the  same 
time  the  clergy  is  losing  the  authority  it  held  so  long  as  the  Church 
remained  haughtily  impartial  towards  the  different  factions  which  dis- 
pute so  bitterly  for  power.  During  the  last  revolution,  which  took 
place  in  April,  1890,  while  I was  in  Peru,  the  leader  of  the  disorder, 
the  demagogue  Pierola,  had  been  the  declared  candidate  of  the  clergy, 
and  several  priests  were  his  most  fervent  canvassers  for  votes.  I re- 
member particularly  one  bronzed  and  fat  priest  whom  I used  to  see 
every  night  on  the  plaza  till  past  midnight,  always  busy  in  the  inter- 
ests of  Pierola. 


II. 

Lima,  with  its  motley  population,  its  churches,  its  busy  old  bridge, 
its  irregular  rows  of  houses  built  of  adobe  bricks,  cane,  and  mud,  its 
miradores  and  balconies,  its  shops,  its  innumerable  drinking-saloons 
placed  under  the  patronage  of  Eiffel,  Edison,  Crispi,  Bismarck,  and 
all  the  celebrities  of  the  two  hemispheres,  its  povtales , its  indolent  men 
and  placid  women,  and  its  general  air  of  bankruptcy  and  want  of 
energy,  is  not  a desirable  place  to  stay  in  for  any  length  of  time. 
The  climate,  too,  though  not  absolutely  unhealthy,  is  decidedly  ener- 
vating; and  if  one  lived  in  it  for  a few  weeks  even,  one  would  prob- 
ably become  as  lazy  and  slow  as  the  natives  themselves,  who  even  do 
nothing  with  effort.  I therefore  availed  myself  of  every  opportunity 
of  making  excursions  into  the  country,  one  of  the  most  interesting  of 
which  was  a visit  to  the  hacienda  of  Caudivilla,  a very  extensive  sugar 
plantation  and  refinery  in  the  valley  of  the  Chillon,  situated  not  far 
from  Ancon.  The  estate  consists  of  four  square  leagues  of  ground 
on  both  banks  of  the  river,  about  three-fifths  of  which  are  devoted  to 


204 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


cane  plantations,  and  the  rest  to  alfalfa,  corn,  and  pasture.  The  mill, 
built  in  1866,  is  provided  with  machinery  by  Merrick  & Sons,  of 
Philadelphia ; it  has  a productive  capacity  of  3000  Spanish  quintals  a 
month,  and  appears  to  be  a model  establishment  of  the  kind.  A 
North  American  engineer  is  in  charge  of  the  machinery.  The  build- 
ings are  very  commodiously  arranged  around  a square,  enclosed  with 
high  walls  and  monumental  gates.  On  one  side  of  the  square  is  the 
mill ; on  another  the  offices  and  a roomy  dwelling-house,  with  comfort- 


LLAMAS  ON  A PLANTATION. 


able  accommodation  for  visitors,  and  all  facilities  for  exercising  liberal 
hospitality;  on  the  third  side  are  stables,  a hotel  and  restaurant  for 
the  employes,  and  a tanibo , or  store ; and  on  the  fourth  side  bodegas , or 
warehouses  for  bagging  and  stocking  the  manufactured  sugar.  The 
square  is  traversed  by  a broad-gauge  railway  and  by  movable  Decau- 
ville  tracks,  along  which  the  cane  is  brought  in  from  the  plantations 
on  trucks,  and  unloaded  directly  into  the  conductor,  or  piled  in  a heap 
when  the  trains  come  in  too  rapidly.  This  corner  of  the  yard  always 
presents  a busy  scene  when  the  mill  is  at  work.  Men  and  boys,  ne- 
groes, Chinese,  and  Peruvians,  are  seen  hurrying  to  and  fro  carrying 
bundles  of  canes  in  their  arms  and  depositing  them  in  the  conductor, 
which  creeps  along  with  its  endless  load  like  a monstrous  serpent,  and 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


205 


disappears  through  a hole  in  the  wall  into  the  hopper  of  the  crushers. 
The  tambo  is  an  interesting  and  exceeding  profitable  element  of  the 
estate.  Here,  as  in  the  pulperias  of  the  nitrate  ojicinas,  everything 
may  be  bought,  from  a sewing-machine  and  a silk  dress  down  to  a 
box  of  matches  or  a shoe-string ; also  bread,  meat,  wines,  spirits,  and 
all  kinds  of  provisions.  But  while  in  the  nitrate  ojicinas  the  workmen 
are  obliged  by  the  administration  to  buy  what  they  need  in  the  pnlpe- 
ria , the  workmen  at  Caudivilla  are  at  liberty  to  spend  their  money  as 
they  please  and  where  they  please.  The  tambo  is  simply  a store  like 
any  other,  only  it  is  better  provided  with  merchandise,  and  it  is  the 
only  establishment  of  the  kind  for  many  miles  around.  The  Indians 
come  down  from  the  Si- 
erra to  buy  things  at  the 
Caudivilla  tambo , and  the 
article  which  they  chiefly 
consume  is  rum  of  30  de- 
grees proof,  distilled  in 
the  sugar  refinery  to  the 
amount  of  between  8000 
and  10,000  gallons  a 
month,  all  of  which  is  sold 
in  the  tambo  or  in  Lima, 
chiefly  to  Indians  and  na- 
tives of  mixed  race,  who 
call  this  spirit  ckacta. 

An  establishment  of 
this  kind,  employing  in  all 
about  800  men,  has  to  be 
self-sufficing;  and  so,  be- 
sides the  mill  proper  and 
its  appurtenances,  there  is 
a fitting  shop,  a wheel- 
wright’s shop,  and  a sad- 
dlery, where  harness  is 
made  and  repaired  for  the 
teams  of  mules  and  oxen. 

There  is  likewise  a doctor  attached  to  the  establishment,  and  an 
apothecary’s  shop,  both  gratuitously  at  the  disposal  of  the  hands ; 
also  a school  and  a Catholic  chapel,  the  revenues  and  properties  of 


SIERRA  INDIAN. 


206 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


which  belong  to  an  itinerant  priest.  On  the  estate  are  several  vil- 
lages, where  the  men  live  with  their  wives  or  concubines  in  singm- 
larly  primitive  conditions,  and  form  a strangely  mixed  community 
of  Chinese,  negroes,  and  mixed  breeds.  Not  many  years  ago  this 
hacienda  was  cultivated  by  gangs  of  cooly  and  African  slaves,  who 
were  locked  up  at  night  in  large  yards,  like  stables,  which  now  remain 
useless.  The  modern  villages  are  composed  of  blocks  of  bamboo 
cane  huts,  plastered  over  with  mud  and  roofed  with  cane,  also  plas- 
tered. The  canes  of  the  side  walls  are  not  cut  to  equal  lengths,  but 
left  like  a fringe.  The  huts  inhabited  by  the  Chinese  are  distin- 
guished by  vertical  inscriptions  in  black  ink  on  bright  orange-red 
paper,  and  many  of  the  Chinamen  are  traders,  and  sell  drink  and 
various  articles  to  the  negroes  and  Peruvians.  The  explanation  of 
this  competition  with  the  retail  store  of  the  estate  is  that  the  tambo 
does  not  give  credit  and  John  Chinaman  does.  The  Chinese  have 
two  pagodas  on  the  Caudivilla  estate,  one  of  them  very  nicely  fitted 
up  with  images,  lanterns,  carvings,  kakemonos , and  ritual  objects.  The 
Chinese  from  the  other  estates  in  the  Chillon  Valley  go  to  the  Caudi- 
villa pagodas  on  grand  days,  and  celebrate  with  gongs  and  cries 
the  feasts  of  their  creed.  All  this  seems  strange  and  amusing,  and 
looks  well  enough  in  a picture ; but  in  reality  it  is  a scene  of  squalor, 
in  the  midst  of  which  are  human  beings  living  in  conditions  scarcely 
worthy  of  brute  beasts.  In  Peru  the  conflict  of  labor  and  capital  has 
not  yet  been  even  dreamed  of.  The  wages  paid  on  this  estate  may 
be  taken  as  indicating  the  high  average  in  agricultural  Peru.  The 
mill  hands  earn  from  50  to  70  cents  Peruvian  currency  a day,  and 
receive  gratis  a ration  of  rice.  The  firemen,  who  feed  the  furnaces 
with  bagazo , or  refuse  cane  after  it  has  been  crushed,  receive  60  to  90 
cents,  with  a ration  of  beans  and  rice,  and  once  a week  meat.  The 
field  hands,  who  work  in  the  pampa  cultivating  or  cutting  the  cane — 
men  and  women  alike — receive  a ration  of  ii  pounds  of  rice  a day 
and  wages  of  from  50  cents  upward.  The  cane-cutters  work  by  the 
piece,  and  can  gain  a maximum  of  $1.20  Peruvian  currency  a day; 
but  their  weekly  maximum  never  exceeds  $7.  All  the  workmen 
are  lodged  gratis,  in  those  wonderful  cane  and  mud  huts  already 
mentioned. 

The  sugar  plantations  are  distributed  along  both  sides  of  a private 
railway,  about  five  miles  long,  which  connects  the  mill  with  the  main 
line  to  Lima.  As  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  the  pale  yellow- green 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


20  7 


vegetation  stretches  over  the  plain,  interrupted  here  and  there  by  a 
patch  of  bamboo  cane,  and  ending  abruptly  where  irrigation  ceases 
and  the  arid  foot-hills  rise  in  brown  masses,  with  dark -blue  shadows 
lurking  in  the  hollows  of  their  rugged  slopes.  In  this  rainless  valley 
everything  depends  upon  irrigation ; where  there  is  no  water,  there  is 
no  vegetation ; and  so,  at  the  edge  of  the  plain,  the  moment  the  land 
begins  to  rise,  there  is  not  a speck  of  green  to  be  seen.  Nevertheless, 
in  the  days  of  the  Incas,  whose  ruined  towns  abound  on  the  lower 
slopes  of  the  hills  all  along  these  coast  valleys,  the  higher  ground  was 
cultivated  by  means  of  terraces  and  irrigation,  the  water  being  prob- 
ably brought  from  reservoirs  of  rain-water  higher  up.  This  problem, 
however,  has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  solved,  and  on  some  of  the 
hill-sides  where  the  Inca  terraces  remain,  it  seems  impossible  to  have 
conveyed  water  by  means  of  canals  and  acequias.  On  the  Caudivilla 
estate  there  are  the  ruins  of  a considerable  Inca  town,  which  appears 
to  have  been  strongly  fortified.  Huge  masses  of  adobe  walls  are  still 
standing,  and  any  one  who  takes  the  trouble  to  violate  the  graves 
may  dig  up  mummies,  pottery,  slings,  and  domestic  implements  and 
ornaments  to  his  heart’s  content.  We  rode  out  to  these  ruins  one 
morning,  but,  being  without  experience  and  unprepared  by  special 
study,  we  could  only  wonder  and  propound  questions  without  profit. 
On  our  way  back  we  visited  a plantation  where  they  were  cutting 
cane  and  loading  it  on  Decauville  cars,  which  were  drawn  along  a 
portable  track  by  bullocks  to  the  mill.  These  portable  rails  and  light 
cars  render  great  service  on  the  estate,  which  possesses  two  kilometres 
of  movable  track  and  sixty  trucks.  We  also  visited  a plantation 
about  two  miles  distant  from  the  mill,  where  the  cut  cane  was  being 
loaded  from  bullock  carts  on  a broad-gauge  train,  which  finally 
steamed  off  with  all  the  negro  and  other  workmen  swarming  like  bees 
over  the  cane  and  clinging  on  to  the  very  engine  itself.  It  was  the 
breakfast  hour,  and  the  zambos  were  going  back  to  the  village  for  the 
mid-day  rest,  each  one  chewing  a piece  of  cane  and  smiling  happily  at 
his  fellows.  The  brakemen  of  the  train,  I noticed,  were  all  Chinese. 
In  the  mill,  also,  I observed  that  most  of  the  men  working  the  machin- 
ery were  Chinese,  and  I was  not  a little  surprised  to  see  one  yellow 
brother  consult  his  hydrometer,  and  then  open  a valve  in  order  to 
reduce  the  density  of  his  liquid.  The  Chinese  in  Peru  are  men 
of  good  report,  excellent  and  indefatigable  workers,  and  not  given  to 
those  excesses  which  cause  the  Peruvian  and  negro  hands  to  spend 


20S 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


regularly  one  day  a week  getting  drunk,  and  two  more  in  getting 
sober. 

Besides  the  mill  and  the  sugar  plantations,  the  Caudivilla  hacienda 
has  several  accessary  establishments — one  devoted  to  corn  and  past- 
ure ; another  to  raising  cattle,  including  ganado  bravo , that  is  to  sav, 
wild  fighting  bulls  for  the  Plaza  Acho ; and  another  to  poultry  farm- 
ing, including  the  rearing  of  fighting  cocks.  The  wild  bulls  sell  for 
$200  to  $300  Peruvian  currency,  according  to  their  bravery.  Cock- 
fighting  is  a very  popular  sport  in  Lima,  and  Caudivilla  furnishes  the 
pit  with  some  of  its  greatest  champions.  When  I was  there  I was 
asked  to  inspect  nearly  fifty  birds  under  the  care  of  Jose  Maria  de  la 
Columna,  better  known  as  “ Papito,”  a colored  man  who  has  achieved 
fame  in  Peru  by  riding  wild  bulls  round  the  Plaza  Acho  amid  the 
frantic  applause  of  the  admiring  multitude.  “ Papito  ” is  never  seen 
without  a champion  under  his  arm.  The  Peruvian  system  of  cock- 
fighting  requires  the  use  of  small  razors,  which  are  tied  on  to  the 
bird's  spurs  according  to  the  method  employed  by  the  Madrid  toreros 
in  their  favorite  Sunday  morning  amusement. 

The  valley  of  the  Chillon  is  mainly  devoted  to  the  production  of 
susiar,  most  of  which  is  consumed  in  the  country.  The  methods  of 
culture  by  means  of  irrigation,  the  use  of  Chinese  and  negro  labor, 
and  all  the  general  features  above  noticed,  will  be  found  on  the  other 
haciendas  of  the  region,  but  nowhere  more  completely  than  at  Caudi- 
villa, where  they  may  be  seen  any  morning  concentrated  in  the  mill- 
yard  in  a striking:  manner.  The  whole  scene  is  full  of  contrasts 
and  strange  neighborhoods.  On  the  roof,  between  the  smoke-stack 
and  the  steam  escape-pipe,  some  turkey-buzzards,  the  scavengers  of 
the  Peruvian  coast  districts,  sit  gravely  meditative  and  unmoved  by 
the  steam -whistle,  whose  echoes  wander  among  the  mysterious  walls 
of  the  Inca  ruins  on  the  mountain-sides.  In  a shady  corner  of  the 
yard  is  a group  of  saddled  mules  and  men  in  ponchos — the  caporals , or 
overseers,  who  have  succeeded  the  slave-drivers  of  old.  At  the  door  of 
the  tambo  stand  half  a dozen  pack-donkeys  belonging  to  some  Indians 
who  have  come  down  from  the  Sierra  to  buy  fire-water.  Then  you 
will  see  several  hundred  head  of  cattle — wild  bulls,  oxen,  sheep,  and 
llamas — driven  through  the  yard  on  the  way  to  new  pastures,  the  herd 
and  the  herdsmen  suggesting  the  days  of  the  patriarchs.  And  yet  on 
the  other  side  of  the  yard,  only  a few  metres  distant,  there  is  a roar 
and  grating  of  most  modern  and  most  scientific  machinery — vacuum 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


209 


boilers,  triple  effects,  spiral -worm  alembics,  density  gauges,  and  hy- 
drometers which  we  have  already  seen  John  Chinaman  consult  with 
intelligence.  Finally,  to  complete  the  picture,  a locomotive  and  a 
train  of  cars  piled  up  with  cane  steams  up  to  the  conductor,  and  John 
Chinaman  handles  the  brakes,  his  yellow  face  all  grimy  with  coal-dust 
And  this  is  rural  life  in  Peru — in  the  coast  valleys,  at  least. 

Another  very  interesting  excursion  that  I made  was  a journey 
along  the  famous  Oroya  Railroad  as  far  as  Chicla,  the  actual  termi- 
nus. This  line  starts  from  Callao,  and  from  Lima  follows  the  valley 
of  the  Rimac  to  the  summit  of  the  Cordillera.  When  completed  it 
will  descend  the  Atlantic  slope,  and  place  the  capital  in  communica- 
tion with  the  Amazonian  provinces,  of  which  Peru  at  present  has  little 
more  than  nominal  possession.  Lima  is  448  feet  above  the  sea-level. 
Starting  from  the  Desemparados  station,  just  above  the  bridge,  we 
skirt  the  torrent  through  a fertile  valley  devoted  to  cereals,  sugar-cane, 
pasture,  and  castor-oil,  and  closed  in  on  either  side  by  hills,  which  be- 
come more  and  more  imposing  until,  at  Chosica,  25  miles  from  Lima, 
and  2832  feet  above  the  sea-level,  we  are  well  in  the  mountain  region. 
This  lower  valley  of  the  Rimac  offers  very  beautiful  views,  the  rich 
vegetation  of  the  irrigated  ground  contrasting  with  the  barren  enclos- 
ing hills,  to  which  the  brilliant  sunshine  imparts  soft  and  velvety  tints 
of  brown,  red,  and  purple.  At  Chosica  our  party  breakfasted  very  ex- 
cellently in  the  station  hotel,  which  is  frequented  by  consumptive 
patients,  who  benefit  by  the  purity  and  lightness  of  the  air.  At  this 
point  we  notice  that  the  higher  peaks  of  the  mountains  above  are  cov- 
ered with  a delicate  coat  of  pale-green  verdure,  while  on  the  lower 
slopes  the  cactus  alone  grows.  As  we  mount,  the  vegetation  becomes 
more  abundant,  and  the  variety  of  green  more  curious  and  beauti- 
ful. At  Agua  de  Verrugas,  43 J-  miles  from  Lima,  and  5840  feet  above 
the  sea-level,  our  train  comes  to  a halt;  there  is  a laguna  in  the  line;  a 
sudden  flood  from  the  top  summits  has  rushed  down  the  Verrugas 
ravine  with  tremendous  force  and  carried  away  the  central  pile  of  the 
bridge,  a structure  of  iron  some  300  feet  high.  This  Verrugas  bridge, 
174  metres  long,  was  the  finest  and  most  important  on  the  line;  now 
the  two  shore  ends  alone  remain,  and  means  having  not  yet  been 
forthcoming  for  reconstruction,  a wire  cable  has  been  thrown  across 
the  ravine,  and  passengers  and  goods  are  swung  over  the  terrible 
yawning  abyss  on  a square  board  or  in  a cage-car.  The  members  of 
our  party  looked  forward  with  some  apprehension  to  this  aerial  voy- 
14 


210 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


age,  for  they  imagined  at  first  that  they  would  be  carried  on  a square, 
flat  board,  like  the  silver  ingots  and  other  goods  that  came  over  while 
we  were  waiting;  the  more  so  as  several  people,  including  some  Chola 
women  and  children,  crossed  over  in  this  primitive  and  perilous  fash- 
ion. However,  we  were  destined  to  a better  lot,  and  a sort  of  horse- 
box with  seats  was  hoisted  on  to  the  cable,  and  we  found  ourselves  on 
the  opposite  bank  of  the  chasm  before  we  had  hardly  started,  the 
journey  lasting  only  thirty-seven  seconds.*  We  then  continued  our 
upward  route  as  far  as  Matucana,  54^  miles  from  Lima,  and  7 788  feet 
above  the  sea-level,  and  there  we  stayed  the  night,  in  order  to  get  ac- 
customed to  the  rarefied  air,  which  affects  many  people  in  a very 
painful  manner  at  the  higher  elevations,  producing  horrible  pains  in 
the  head,  suffocation,  bleeding  at  the  ears — all  of  which  symptoms  are 
known  in  the  Peruvian  Andes  by  the  name  of  sorroche. 

Matucana  is  a typical  mountain  village,  but,  like  all  the  other  set- 
tlements up  this  valley,  it  has  suffered  from  the  Chilian  invasion.  It 
appears  that  a Chilian  corps  went  up  the  line  to  make  sure  that  there 
were  no  Peruvian  troops  in  reserve  in  the  higher  regions.  Their  up- 
ward march  met  with  no  resistance,  but  as  they  were  coming  down 
again  the  “ hardy  mountaineers  ” plucked  up  courage  and  fired  on 
their  rear,  whereupon  the  Chilians  very  naturally  burned  the  villages. 
Half  of  each  village  is  still  a mass  of  ruins  and  roofless  walls,  and 
where  the  ruins  have  been  patched  up  the  thatched  roofs  have  been 
replaced  by  less  picturesque  corrugated  iron.  Matucana  consists  of 
two  straggling  streets,  a plaza,  and  a dilapidated  church  and  belfry; 
most  of  the  stores  are  kept  by  Chinese ; the  population  is  Cholo  and 
Indian  only,  for  the  negro  does  not  care  to  leave  the  coast  valleys.  In 
the  streets  of  the  village  the  only  beasts  of  burden  that  you  see  are 
donkeys,  llamas,  and  mules.  In  the  cottages  of  mud  and  cane  furni- 
ture appears  to  be  considered  unnecessary — at  any  rate,  it  is  non-ex- 
istent, the  inhabitants  all  squat  on  their  heels.  The  men  alone  sit  on 
a bench  outside  the  liquor  store  and  ruminate  under  their  ponchos 
with  a certain  stolid  dignity.  After  dinner  we  went  to  vespers  in  the 
church  and  found  it  full  of  CJiolos  and  Indians — men,  women,  babies, 
and  even  dogs;  the  men  kneeled  and  bowed  their  shaggy  black  heads; 
the  women,  swathed  in  mantas , squatted  in  shapeless  masses  of  black 
drapery  on  the  quarried  floor;  two  little  lank-haired,  copper-skinned 

* Since  my  trip  this  bridge  has  been  rebuilt  from  the  designs  of  Mr.  L.  L.  Buck,  of  New 
York.  It  was  opened  for  traffic  in  December,  1890. 


THE  OROYA  RAILWAY— CROSSING  THE  VERRUGAS  BRIDGE. 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


213 


urchins,  clad  in  white  surplices,  held  tall  candles,  one  on  each  side  of 
the  officiating  priest,  who  chanted  the  old  Gregorian  plain  song  to 
the  accompaniment  of  a wheezing  harmonium ; the  side  altars,  gay 
with  rococo  scroll-work  and  images  dressed  in  velvet  and  spangles, 
were  brilliantly  lighted  with  innumerable  candles.  “ Ave  Maria  gratia 
plena  /”  chanted  the  priest  in  the  stillness  of  the  mountain  night. 
Psitt ! bang  ! went  a sky-rocket  just  outside  the  church  door,  and  then 
another,  and  yet  another.  While  some  of  the  villagers  were  worship- 
ping the  Virgin,  others  were  firing  sky-rockets  at  the  moon  with  equal 
seriousness  or  equal  stolidity.  Those  who  were  worshipping  paid  no 
attention  to  the  sky-rockets,  and  those  who  were  busy  with  the  fire- 
works paid  no  heed  to  those  who  were  in  church. 

From  Matucana  we  continued  our  journey  the  next  morning 
through  magnificent  mountain  scenery  to  Chicla,  78  miles  from  Lima, 
and  12,220  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  This  last  rise  of  4432  feet 
was  accomplished  in  three  hours,  the  locomotive  climbing  along  the 
mountain-side  over  a distance  of  about  24  miles,  now  zigzagging  up  a 
precipice,  on  whose  face  you  see  three  lines  of  rails  and  three  tunnels, 
one  above  the  other,  now  skirting  the  torrent,  now  crossing  it  on  a 
spider-web  iron  bridge.  Meanwhile  the  masses  of  the  mountains  have 
become  grander  and  bolder,  and  at  the  same  time  the  vegetation  is 
more  luxuriant,  while  on  the  very  topmost  peaks  a little  snow,  or 
rather  congealed  rain,  is  occasionally  to  be  seen.  One  hill  is  covered 
with  aloes;  another,  cut  into  steps  by  the  old  Inca  terraces,  is  dia- 
pered with  the  various  shades  of  green  of  many  kinds  of  ferns,  dotted 
here  and  there  with  brilliant  flowers;  indeed,  the  whole  country  is  like 
an  immense  rocky  garden  that  seems  to  contain  half  the  flowers  that 
we  have  ever  seen,  morning-glory,  convolvulus,  lupines,  nasturtium, 
heliotrope  filling  the  air  with  its  perfume,  scented  geranium,  pinks 
and  carnations  in  the  greatest  variety  of  colors  and  markings,  nux- 
vomica,  calceolarias  of  the  most  delicate  canary  yellow,  buttercups, 
gold  and  silver  ferns,  and  many  kinds  of  creepers,  with  flowers  of  the 
most  beautiful  colors.  At  the  time  of  our  visit — the  month  of  March, 
just  towards  the  end  of  the  rainy  season — this  floral  vegetation  was  in 
all  the  splendor  of  a new  growth,  and  the  verdure  on  the  mountain- 
tops  still  fresh  and  pure.  Never  have  I seen  grander  and  more 
charming  mountain  scenery  than  this. 

Our  descent  from  Chicla  to  Lima  was  accomplished  by  means  of 
two  hand-cars  coupled  together,  and  each  provided  with  a brake. 


214 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


These  cars,  put  on  the  track  at  Chicla,  run  by  gravitation  alone  all  the 
way  to  Lima,  the  only  interruption  being  the  gap  due  to  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Verrugas  viaduct.  Passengers,  of  course,  are  conveyed  in 
ordinary  trains,  but  as  there  are  only  two  trains  a week,  our  party  was 
carried  up  by  a special  engine,  and  the  return  trip  was  made  on  the 
hand-cars,  in  order  both  to  simplify  matters  and  to  enable  us  to  see  the 
scenery  to  the  best  advantage.  This  method  of  going  down  was  a nov- 
el sensation  for  all  of  us,  and  at  the  same  time  exciting  and  not  exempt 
from  danger.  At  certain  moments  the  speed  was  alarming,  and  had 
the  brakes  given  way  we  should  have  inevitably  been  launched  into 
eternity  down  one  of  the  many  precipices  which  we  skirted.  How- 
ever, the  only  accident  we  encountered  was  very  slight,  and  nobody  was 
harmed:  as  we  passed  through  one  long  and  dark  tunnel  the  men  on 
the  first  seat  of  the  front  car  suddenly  received  into  their  laps  a young 
jackass  that  had  strayed  on  to  the  track.  The  cars  were  stopped 
sharply,  and  our  momentary  alarm  vanished  into  laughter  when  we 
reached  the  light  and  saw  the  little  donkey  trotting  out  through  the 
mouth  of  the  tunnel.  So  we  sped  along,  admiring  the  scenery,  which 
words  cannot  describe,  and  noting  the  rare  incidents  of  the  landscape 
— a waterfall;  a bridge;  an  artificial  tunnel  cut  through  the  rock,  so 
as  to  divert  the  Rimac  torrent  from  its  old  bed,  in  which  the  rails  are 
now  laid;  a tunnel  high  up  above  our  heads,  through  which  we  came 
only  a few  minutes  ago;  a condor  soaring  across  the  valley;  a train  of 
pack  mules  and  donkeys  winding  along  at  the  bottom  of  the  ravine,  a 
thousand  feet  below  us,  under  the  charge  of  some  Indians;  a C/iolita 
standing  to  watch  us  shoot  past,  her  long  black  hair  bedecked  with 
large  passion-flowers;  the  green  mountain-sides  terraced  to  an  incredi- 
ble height  by  the  old  Incas;  here,  an  Inca  aceq7iia  running  sinuously 
along  a steep  slope  hundreds  of  feet  above  the  torrent ; there,  a brown 
mass  of  Inca  ruins.  And  so  we  reach  the  lower  valley,  and  enter 
Lima  just  as  the  late  afternoon  sun  is  gilding  the  stucco  towers,  and 
casting  long  purple  shadows  over  the  Cerro  de  San  Cristobal. 

The  Oroya  road  is  a very  remarkable  piece  of  engineering  work, 
executed  perhaps  not  wisely  but  too  well.  The  difficulties  sur- 
mounted are  enormous.  The  constructor,  an  American,  Henry 
Meiggs,  used  to  say,  I was  told,  at  certain  arduous  points,  “ The  line 
has  to  go  there,  and  if  we  can’t  find  a road  for  it,  we'll  hang  the  track 
from  balloons. ’’  This  remark  illustrates  the  boldness  and  almost  reck- 
lessness with  which  the  line  has  been  built;  and  even  now,  fine  as  the 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


work  is,  it  is  in  constant  danger  of  destruction  in  many  parts.  Every 
year  sections  of  the  line,  bridges,  and  viaducts  are  swept  away  by 
floods  and  landslips  which  cannot  be  foreseen.  A water-spout  bursts 
on  a mountain-peak,  an  immense  volume  of  water,  mud,  and  bowlders 
dashes  down,  and  half  an  hour  later  all  is  calm  again;  but  the  railway 
track  has  disappeared,  or  one  of  the  bridges  will  be  found,  twisted  into 
a knot,  half  a mile  away  from  its  proper  place.  For  this  reason  the 
line  must  always  be  very  expen- 
sive and  difficult  to  keep  in  re- 
pair. The  working  of  it  is  also 
very  expensive,  on  account  of  the 
high  price  of  coal  and  the  quan- 
tity wasted  by  the  continuous 
firing  required  to  force  the  train 
up  the  steep  gradients.  Experi- 


THE  OROYA  RAILWAY — HAND-CAR  DESCENDING. 

ments,  however,  are  now  being  made  with  cheaper  fuel  in  the  form  of 
petroleum  residuum  from  the  Talara  wells.  As  it  is,  the  locomotives 
have  22-inch  cylinders,  and  the  steam -pressure  all  the  way  has  to 


216 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


be  kept  at  140  pounds  to  the  square  inch.  The  maximum  train  is 
five  cars,  weighing  8 tons  each,  and  carrying  10  tons  of  cargo;  and  in 
order  to  drag  this  weight  from  Lima  to  Chicla,  the  locomotive  burns 
7 tons  of  first-class  English  coal.  The  maximum  gradients  are  4 per 
cent.,  and  the  minimum  curves  120  metres  radius.  This  radius  is 
found  in  all  the  tunnels,  of  which  there  are  40  between  Lima  and 
Chicla,  the  longest  measuring  296  metres.  The  number  of  bridges  is 
16,  the  longest  being  the  Verrugas  viaduct,  now  destroyed,  measuring 
174  metres.  The  total  distance  from  Callao  to  Chicla,  where  the  rails 
end,  is  86^  miles. 

The  Oroya  line,  on  which  the  Peruvian  loan  of  1870  of  ,£5,520,000 
sterling  was  expended,  was  not  finished  for  want  of  funds,  and  the 
portion  of  it  that  was  completed  has  never  paid.  The  original  idea 
was  to  carry  the  line  to  La  Oroya,  in  the  transandine  province  of 
Junin,  and  the  survey  and  much  of  the  earthwork  and  tunnels  were 
executed  before  the  money  gave  out  in  1873.  The  summit  tunnel 
through  the  Paso  de  Galera,  between  1100  and  1200  metres  long,  is 
open,  and  from  the  plans  it  appears  to  be  an  interesting  piece  of 
work,  being  on  a vertical  curve,  with  3I  per  cent,  gradients  on  the 
Pacific  slope  of  the  Cordillera,  and  just  enough  for  drainage  on  the 
Atlantic  slope,  where  the  line  runs  for  6|  kilometres  with  gradients  of 
from  2 to  4 per  cent.,  and  then  for  the  rest  of  the  distance  to  La 
Oroya,  43  kilometres,  over  easy  ground.  The  summit  tunnel  of  the 
Paso  de  Galera  is  the  58th  from  Lima;  it  is  distant  from  Callao  by 
the  rails  104  miles,  and  stands  at  a height  of  4814  metres,  or  15,700 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  thus  making  the  Oroya  the  highest  of 
all  the  projected  transandine  railways. 

The  Oroya  road  leads  us  inevitably  to  the  questions  of  the  Peru- 
vian bondholders,  the  Grace  contract,  and  the  future  of  Peru.  These 
are  delicate  and  complicated  topics  to  handle,  but  perhaps  with  a little 
patience,  and  with  such  elimination  of  details  as  is  compatible  with 
lucidity,  we  shall  be  able  to  state  the  case  as  it  actually  is  for  the  en- 
lightenment of  those  who  have  only  read  about  it  in  newspapers  at  a 
distance  from  the  scene  of  action.  A little  more  than  twenty  years 
ago,  Peru,  being  an  independent  republic,  and  recently  victorious  in 
a final  war  against  Spain,  was  seized  with  the  then  prevalent  railway 
fever.  Having  obtained  money  from  the  Old  World  by  three  loans, 
issued  in  1869,  1870,  and  1872,  she  proceeded  to  build  railways,  but 
in  so  ill-advised  a manner  that  out  of  the  ten  lines  commenced  or 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


217 


completed  only  two  proved  to  be  of  use,  but  scarcely  of  profit,  and 
most  of  them  were  left  in  the  hands  of  their  respective  contractors,  in 
order  that  out  of  the  returns  the  latter  might  repay  themselves  the 
balance  due  for  their  construction.  This  Peru  was  herself  unable  to 
do,  all  the  capital  of  the  three  loans  having  disappeared  at  the  end  of 
1872.  In  1876,  her  finances  having  gone  from  bad  to  worse,  Peru 
was  unable  to  pay  the  interest  of  her  debts,  and  accordingly  made  de- 
fault. Then,  in  1879,  happened  the  disastrous  war  of  Peru  and  Bo- 
livia against  Chili,  which  ended  in  Peru  losing  the  rich  provinces  of 
Tarapaca  and  Antofagasta,  whence  Chili  now  derives  the  better  half 
of  her  revenues.  Peru  also  lost  with  these  provinces  the  greater  part 
of  her  guano  deposits.  These  events  resulted  in  numerous  financial 
claims  against  Peru  on  the  part  of  individuals,  such  as  railway  con- 
tractors, of  mortgagees  like  the  Messrs.  Dreyfus  and  Company,  and 
of  the  Peruvian  bondholders,  the  latter  alone  having  a claim  of  ^32,- 
953,000  sterling,  the  amount  of  the  three  loans  of  1869,  1870,  and 
1872,  plus  unpaid  interest  since  1876,  which  at  the  end  of  1889 
brought  the  total  claims  of  the  bondholders,  in  round  numbers,  to 
^56,000,000  sterling.  With  the  loss  of  the  two  provinces  containing 
the  nitrate  and  guano  deposits,  Peru  lost  three-quarters  of  her  reve- 
nues; the  war  and  the  consequent  paper  money  crisis  almost  annihi- 
lated private  capital;  the  commerce  of  the  country  was  ruined,  and 
the  custom-house  receipts  reduced ; and  the  public  functionaries  of 
late  years  have  been  as  badly  off  as  their  colleagues  in  the  Ottoman 
Empire,  who  only  get  paid  now  and  then.  Thus,  during  the  past  four- 
teen years,  the  condition  of  Peru  has  been  growing  worse  and  worse, 
and  her  statesmen  have  not  been  able  to  find  a remedy,  the  more  so  as 
many  of  them  appear  to  have  had  strange  ideas  of  national  honor  and 
international  credit.  It  was  a common  belief  in  Peru,  for  instance, 
after  the  war,  that  the  victory  of  the  Chilians  relieved  the  country  from 
all  responsibility  for  her  debts ; the  defeat  was  supposed  to  wipe  out 
everything  and  leave  the  ground  clear  for  a fresh  start.  Even  the 
last  president,  General  Caceres,  held  this  view,  and  it  was  with  much 
difficulty  that  he  could  be  convinced  that,  even  were  it  not  flagrantly 
immoral  for  Peru  to  take  advantage  of  the  pretext  of  defeat  for  re- 
pudiating her  debt,  it  would  be  a sure  way  of  discrediting  her  for- 
ever in  the  civilized  world.  This  very  elementary  fact  of  commercial 
and  national  morality  having  been  established,  perhaps  not  wholly  to 
the  satisfaction  of  the  two-thirds  of  the  Peruvian  nation  who  held  the 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


2lS 

opposite  view,  the  problem  of  giving  new  life  to  Peru  presented  itself 
in  the  following  three  desiderata:  rehabilitation  of  the  internal  and  ex- 
ternal credit  of  the  country;  completion  and  extension  of  the  railway 
system  ; and  development  of  the  mining  and  agricultural  wealth  of  the 
country  by  means  of  the  introduction  of  foreign  labor  and  capital. 

The  solution  of  the  problem  is  supposed  to  be  implicit  in  the 
arrangement  between  the  Peruvian  bondholders  and  the  Peruvian 
Government,  known  as  the  “ Grace  contract  ” from  the  name  of  the 
person,  Mr.  Michael  Paul  Grace,  whose  private  interests  have  led  him 
to  work  so  ardently  for  the  common  interests  of  the  bondholders.  By 
a transfer  of  the  rights  of  the  heirs  of  Henry  Meiggs,  Mr.  Grace  — or 
Grace  Brothers,  for  he  was  at  that  time  partner  of  the  firm — obtained 
control  of  the  Oroya  line  and  began  to  think  about  finishing  the  line 
from  Chicla  to  La  Oroya,  and,  above  all,  of  building  an  extension  to 
Cerro  de  Pasco,  where  he  was  largely  interested  in  silver  mines,  un- 
fortunately inaccessible  and  unprofitable  until  this  line  is  built.  This 
desire  to  get  a railway  built  to  Cerro  de  Pasco  brought  Mr.  Grace  to 
London  in  1885,  and  finding  the  English  market  very  naturally  closed 
to  Peru,  he  began  to  negotiate  with  the  bondholders’  committee;  and 
so  the  famous  contract  was  conceived,  and  from  1886  to  1889  Mr. 
Grace,  latterly  with  Lord  Donoughmore  as  the  official  representative  of 
the  bondholders  duly  accredited  by  the  British  Government,  fought  in 
Lima  against  the  agents  of  Chili  and  the  agents  of  Dreyfus  and  Com- 
pany,  who  were  of  course  bitterly  opposed  to  the  contract,  the  former 
being  desirous  of  keeping  her  former  enemy  down,  the  latter  maintain- 
ing the  priority  of  their  claims  upon  certain  properties  which  the  con- 
tract proposed  to  alienate.  The  fight  was  long,  obstinate,  expensive,  and 
mysterious ; there  are  rumors  of  bribery  and  corruption  on  both  sides ; 
there  are  stories  of  extraordinary  sessions  of  Parliament,  of  the  revo- 
cation of  recalcitrant  deputies  who  would  not  vote  the  proper  way,  and 
of  the  appointment  by  artificially  corrected  elections  of  new  and  docile 
deputies  who  finally  passed  the  contract;  there  are  intimations  that 
even  now  that  the  contract  has  been  passed  some  future  power  might 
annul  it,  for  in  Peru  it  is  unwise  to  place  blind  confidence  in  the 
present  state  of  things,  whatever  may  be  the  question  in  point.  The 
epoch  of  revolutions,  as  recent  events  have  proved,  is  not  yet  over  for 
Peru.  Laws  in  this  republic  inspire  respect  to  none  less  than  to  new 
presidents,  who  have  hitherto  been  in  the  habit  of  issuing  convenient 
decrees  which  may  be  converted  into  laws  later  on.  A favorite  presi- 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


219 


dential  decree  which  the  business  men  resent  bitterly  is  one  that  sud- 
denly raises  the  import  duties.  The  president  wants  money ; as 
things  are  now  the  only  taxes  worth  levying  are  those  on  business 
people,  or,  in  other  words,  on  the  people  who  are  making  money. 

However  all  this  may  be,  the  contract  between  the  bondholders 
and  the  Government  for  the  salvation  of  Peru  was  finally  signed  and 
ratified  in  January,  1890,  and  the  work  of  salvation  ought  to  have  be- 
gun at  once  on  a scale  of  unparalleled  extension.  The  contract  is  a 
long  document,  and  contains  many  clauses  and  saving  clauses,  but  in 
substance  it  amounts  to  this:  The  Republic  of  Peru  is  declared  to  be 
relieved  of  all  responsibility  for  the  loans  of  1869,  1870,  and  1872, 
which  is  explained  to  mean  that  the  name  and  credit  of  Peru  are 
henceforward  rehabilitated  in  the  financial  markets  of  the  world,  and 
that  she  will  have  no  difficulty  in  running  once  more  into  debt.  On 
the  contrary,  it  is  said,  look  at  Mexico.  While  Mexico  left  her  debt 
pending  she  remained  stationary ; whereas,  since  she  compounded 
with  her  creditors,  foreign  capital  has  flowed  into  the  country  and 
made  it  one  of  the  first  and  most  progressive  of  the  Hispano- Ameri- 
can Republics.  In  return  for  this  absolute  and  irrevocable  release 
the  Peruvian  Government  cedes  to  the  bondholders  the  property  and 
proceeds  of  all  the  railways  of  the  State  for  a period  of  sixty-six  years, 
dating  from  January,  1890.  These  lines  are  from  Mollendo  to  Santa 
Rosa  and  Puno,  Callao  to  La  Oroya  (the  rails  only  as  far  as  Chicla), 
Pisco  to  lea,  Lima  to  Ancon,  Chimbote  to  Suchiman,  Pacasmayo  to 
Guadalupe  and  Yonan,  Salaveray  to  Trujillo  and  Ascope,  and  Payta 
to  Piura — in  all  1222  kilometres.  The  two  lines  first  mentioned  are 
alone  of  any  real  importance  and  value;  all  the  lines  need  repairs,  and 
several  of  them  almost  complete  reconstruction.  After  the  lapse  of 
sixty-six  years  these  lines,  with  the  prolongations,  repairs,  stations, 
rolling  stock,  etc.,  which  the  bondholders  bind  themselves  to  make 
and  maintain,  return  to  the  Peruvian  State  free  from  all  claims,  debts, 
and  liabilities.  The  bondholders  are  bound,  under  penalty  of  fines 
or  loss  of  privilege,  to  build,  within  limits  of  two,  three,  and  four 
years,  lines  from  Chicla  to  La  Oroya  and  from  Santa  Rosa  to  Cuzco, 
and  within  six  years  to  build  160  kilometres  of  railway  in  any  or 
either  of  a number  of  directions  specified  in  the  contract.  There  is 
also  a clause  giving  the  bondholders  all  the  guano  existing  in  Peru- 
vian territory  up  to  the  amount  of  3,000,000  English  tons,  and  a share 
of  the  guano  sold  by  Chili  in  accordance  with  the  stipulations  of  the 


220 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


treaty  of  Ancon.  This  guano  cession  seems,  however,  to  be  rather 
illusory,  and  not  wholly  based  upon  fact.  The  Peruvian  Government 
further  binds  itself  to  pay  to  the  committee  of  bondholders  thirty  an- 
nuities of  ,£80,000  each,  by  mensualities  reserved  out  of  the  customs 
receipts  of  Callao ; the  first  annuity  to  be  due  three  years  after  the 
ratification  of  the  contract.  This  annuity  the  Peruvian  Government 
confesses  to  be  unable  to  pay  with  its  present  resources,  but  trusts  to 
an  increase  of  commerce  concomitant  with  the  execution  of  the  con- 
tract. The  bondholders  have  further  obtained  from  the  Peruvian 
Government  a concession  to  build  a line  from  Puno  to  Desaguadero, 
and  from  the  Bolivian  Government  a concession  for  a line  from  De- 
saguadero to  La  Paz,  with  a branch  to  Oruro;  from  the  Peruvian  Gov- 
ernment a concession  for  building  a line  from  La  Oroya  to  one  of  the 
navigable  rivers  of  the  interior  of  Peru — the  Ucayali,  for  instance — 
with  a grant  of  6000  hectares,  or  about  15,000  acres,  of  unappropriated 
land  for  each  kilometre  of  finished  railway;  and  finally  from  the  Pe- 
ruvian Government  a grant  of  2,000,000  hectares,  or  about  5,000,000 
acres,  of  unappropriated  lands  at  the  free  disposal  of  the  State,  “pro- 
vided the  concessionnaires  shall  undertake  to  avail  themselves  of  the 
said  lands,  devoting  them  to  agricultural  development  or  other  indus- 
trial enterprises,  to  commence  the  colonization  within  the  first  three 
years,  and  to  have  them  settled  upon  within  the  maximum  period  of 
nine  years.  The  immigrants  brought  to  Peru  by  virtue  of  this  con- 
cession shall  be  of  European  races,  and  shall  pay  no  tax  whatever  . . . 
in  all  other  respects  they  shall  be  subject  to  the  laws  of  the  Republic.” 

All  these  concessions  and  privileges  are,  by  virtue  of  the  contract 
vested  in  the  bondholders,  formed  into  a joint-stock  company  called 
the  Peruvian  Railways  and  Development  Corporation  (Limited),  and 
registered  in  London,  “it  being  understood  that  the  rights  and  obli- 
gations of  this  contract  can  only  be  transferred  to  English  companies 
organized  and  established  in  London." 

Such  is  the  sum  and  substance  of  this  unprecedented  and  specious 
arrangement,  the  execution  of  which,  it  is  announced,  will  not  only  re- 
coup the  bondholders  in  time  for  their  past  sacrifices,  but  also  confer 
the  greatest  benefits  on  Peru  itself.  This  is  doubtless  true,  provided 
the  contract  can  be  carried  out.  But  the  more  we  examine  its  clauses 
and  the  special  conditions  of  Peru,  the  more  remote  and  improbable 
its  realization  seems.  The  first  requirement  for  its  fulfilment  is 
money — immense  sums  of  money.  Will  they  be  forthcoming?  Evi- 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


221 


dently  Peru  is  a country  abounding  in  natural  riches,  and  the  utiliza- 
tion of  these  riches  would  be  a legitimate  and  tempting  field  for 
foreign  capital  if  there  were  guarantees  of  good  administration,  and  if 
the  difficulties  of  working  were  not  so  great  and  numerous.  The  ob- 
stacles to  the  development  of  Peru  are,  in  the  first  place,  the  Peru- 
vians; and,  in  the  second  place,  the  remoteness  of  its  riches  from  the 
paths  of  commerce.  In  all  these  South  American  republics  the  old 
creole  population,  whether  Peruvian,  Chilian,  Argentine,  or  Brazilian, 
is  useless  for  progress ; it  furnishes  the  class  of  aristocrats,  politicians, 
officials,  and  government  employes  who  are  non-productive  and  ob- 
structive, and  in  most  cases  nothing  better  than  national  parasites;  it 
furnishes  the  thieving  dictators  and  Presidential  embezzlers,  who  fill 
each  capital  and  every  public  office  with  a horde  of  intriguers  in  and 
out  of  uniform.  In  the  Argentine,  owing  to  prodigious  and  incessant 
immigration,  the  creole  element  is  rapidly  getting  crowded  out,  and 
the  country  is  being  carried  on  to  greatness  and  prosperity  by  the 
new  blood  that  is  flowing  into  it  week  by  week,  and  which,  thanks  to 
the  nature  of  the  country  and  to  the  extension  of  cheaply  constructed 
railways,  has  been  able  to  spread  gradually  and  naturally  from  the  sea- 
coast  and  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres  to  the  Cordillera  and  the 
confines  of  Patagonia.  In  Peru  all  the  conditions  are  different,  as  a 
glance  at  the  map  will  show.  Roughly  speaking,  the  country  may  be 
divided  into  three  regions,  namely,  the  coast  valleys,  the  mountain 
region,  and  the  transandine  or  Amazonian  provinces.  The  coast  val- 
leys produce  sugar,  cotton,  rice,  maize,  and  other  cereals,  and  all  the 
fruits  that  man  can  desire ; but,  there  being  no  rain,  all  culture  de- 
pends upon  irrigation,  and  the  irrigation  in  turn  depends  on  the  water 
supply  of  a number  of  short  rivers  of  small  volume.  All  the  land  in 
the  coast  valleys  is  occupied  to  the  full  extent  of  the  water  supply , and 
cultivated  in  a rough  but  more  or  less  effective  way,  mainly  by 
Chinese  and  colored  laborers,  who  live,  as  we  have  seen,  in  a very  rudi- 
mentary manner,  and  earn  40  to  50  Peruvian  cents  a day.  In  this 
region  there  is  no  room  for  immigration.  Higher  up  in  the  mount- 
ains there  is  a certain  amount  of  available  land,  not,  however,  of  a 
nature  adapted  to  modern,  agricultural  methods,  and  much  of  it  re- 
quiring the  terrace  and  irrigation  systems  which  were  employed  by 
the  Incas.  This  land,  too,  in  spite  of  expensive  mountain  railways, 
would  always  remain  at  a disadvantage  for  want  of  easy  communi- 
cations with  a market.  There  remain  then  the  Amazonian  provinces, 


222 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


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Silver  

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about  which  recent  travellers  have  written  so  enthusiastically  and  so 
instructively.  At  present  this  vast  territory,  watered  by  the  great 
tributaries  of  the  Amazon,  the  Maranon,  Huallaga,  Ucayali,  Uru- 
bamba,  Inambari,  etc.,  is  most  inaccessible.  The  Peruvian  officials, 
who  are  sent  there  to  exercise  a nominal  rule,  and  often  to  find  Bra- 
zilian officials  in 
practical  com- 
mand, reach  then- 
seat  of  govern- 
ment most  easily 
by  steamer  to 
Panama,  across 
the  Isthmus, 
round  to  Para, 
then  up  the  Ama- 
zon by  steamer, 
and  the  rest  of 
the  journey  as 
best  they  can. 
The  cocoa,  caout- 
chouc, cinchona, 
and  other  prod- 
ucts of  these  rich 
tropical  regions 
inhabited  by  Ind- 
ians, are  carried 
on  rafts  down  the 
tributary  streams 
until  an  Amazon- 
ian factory  and 
steamer  are  reach- 
ed. It  is.  simply 
a wild  country 

railways  and  mineral  lands  of  peru  and  Bolivia.  where  the  vegeta- 
tion is  so  luxuri- 
ous that  if  you  cut  a path  through  the  virgin  forests  that  cover  the 
ground  it  will  be  grown  over  and  disappear  entirely  in  a fortnight. 
Nature  is  here  so  full  of  exuberant  strength  that  she  becomes  the  en- 
emy instead  of  the  friend  of  man,  and  the  only  hope  of  clearing  the 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


* 223 

land  for  agriculture  would  be  by  organized  armies  of  thousands  of  col- 
onists working  simultaneously  and  collectively.  According  to  the 
most  impartial  and  practical  witnesses,  the  task  of  reducing  this  trop- 
ical nature  to  subjection  would  inevitably  fail  unless  organized  on  a 
vast  scale,  and  by  powerful  companies  having  thousands  of  hands  at 
their  command.  In  any  case,  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  render  these 
provinces  accessible,  so  that  colonists  may  reach  them,  and  so  that 
their  products  may  be  brought  to  a seaport. 

Is  this  seaport  to  be  on  the  Pacific  or  the  Atlantic  coast?  To 
carry  the  merchandise  to  the  Pacific  by  means  of  a trasandine  railway, 
with  necessarily  high  freights,  would  seem  to  be  too  expensive.  To 
carry  it  by  water  to  the  sea  by  the  Amazon  would  mean  entering  into 
competition  with  Brazil  and  the  flourishing  republics  of  the  Atlantic 
coast.  All  these  considerations  render  the  Amazonian  provinces  a 
relatively  uninviting  field  for  immigrants  so  long  as  there  is  good  and 
productive  land  and  security  for  life  and  property  in  more  accessible 
spots  and  in  less  enervating  climates.  As  the  2,000,000  hectares  of 
land  granted  to  the  Peruvian  Railways  and  Development  Corporation 
must  necessarily  be  selected  mainly  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  An- 
des, and  as  the  contract  requires  the  colonization  to  be  commenced 
within  three  years,  and  the  lands  settled  within  the  maximum  period 
of  nine  years,  whereas  limits  of  time  ten  times  as  long  would  scarcely 
be  sufficient,  we  may  justly  regard  this  clause  of  the  contract  as  of  no 
practical  importance.  Peru’s  dream  of  colonization  will  not  be  real- 
ized in  so  near  a future  as  the  Grace  contract  specifies. 

One  of  the  most  recent  explorers  of  these  Amazonian  provinces, 
M.  Marcel  Monnier,  in  his  book,  Des  Andes  au  Para , says,  speaking 
of  the  climate:  “Extreme  reserve  must  be  observed  in  this  matter, 

and,  from  the  fact  that  the  climate  is  endurable,  we  cannot  conclude 
that  it  is  innocuous.  It  is  difficult  to  retain  one’s  self-possession  in 
presence  of  this  exuberant  nature;  trusting  to  sincere  descriptions,  a 
simple  people  might  imagine  that  they  will  find  here  the  land  of 
promise  where  the  emigrant  is  sure  of  realizing  for  himself  and  his 
friends  those  dreams  of  ease,  if  not  of  fortune,  which  he  has  pursued  in 
vain  in  his  native  land.  In  reality,  in  no  other  new  country  is  the  pio- 
neer’s task  more  difficult.  The  enterprise  requires  a previous  training 
and  preparation ; it  is  too  heavy  for  individuals.  Nowhere,  in  short, 
to  speak  frankly,  will  the  new-comer  find  himself  more  lost,  more 
depayse , more  far  away  from  familiar  horizons;  the  isolation  will  seem 


224 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


to  him  to  be  perhaps  less  endurable  in  this  desert  of  verdure  and  of 
murmuring  waters  than  in  the  sad  and  bare  prairies  of  the  Far  West.” 

In  view  of  possible  attempts  to  carry  out  the  colonization  clause  of 
the  Grace  contract,  and  remembering  the  snares  and  misery  which 
have  already  been  the  lot  of  hundreds  of  poor  colonists  in  Chili  and 
also  in  other  parts  of  South  America,  it  seems  fit  that  a cry  of  warn- 
ing should  be  raised. 

Doubtless  if  the  Grace  contract  could  be  carried  out  to  the  letter 
it  would  confer  great  benefit  on  Peru,  but  at  the  same  time  it  must  be 
admitted  that  it  bestows  a dangerous  monopoly  upon  the  concession- 
naires.  The  special  clause  reserving  all  the  subcontracts  for  English 
companies  organized  and  established  in  London  is  of  a nature  to  dis- 
courage all  other  nationalities  except  the  English,  and  even  to  create 
material  difficulties  in  the  case  of  applications  on  the  part  of  com- 
panies or  individuals  independent  of  the  Peruvian  Railways  and  De- 
velopment Corporation.  In  other  words,  while  the  Grace  contract  is 
being  carried  out,  or  falling  through,  there  must  necessarily  be  a 
period  of  suspense  and  hesitation.  The  immense  monopoly  in  ques- 
tion practically  reserves  the  Peruvian  territory  for  a certain  number  of 
years  to  English  companies,  formed  or  to  be  formed,  but  of  whose 
eventual  activity,  given  the  present  state  of  the  country,  there  is  no 
guarantee.  To  make  this  contract  absolutely  practical,  the  Peruvian 
bondholders  should  have  undertaken  to  administrate  Peru,  and  relieve 
it  of  the  burden  of  the  farcical  government  which  it  enjoys  under  the 
name  of  a republic.  Peru  is  not  a new  country,  but  an  old  and  de- 
crepit one,  presenting  many  points  of  resemblance  to  modern  Spain. 
Its  history  is  more  or  less  a repetition  of  that  of  Spain,  and  its  re- 
generation presenting  similar  difficulties.  In  Peru  we  find  remnants 
of  the  past  civilization  of  the  Incas,  whose  irrigation  works,  now  fallen 
to  ruins,  suggest  comparison  with  the  works  of  the  Moors,  which 
made  fertile  vast  territories  in  Spain  that  are  now  as  barren  as  the 
brown  guebradas  of  the  valley  of  the  Rimac.  In  Peru,  too,  there  is  a 
degenerate  plebs,  indolent  as  the  Andalusian  peasantry,  a clergy  op- 
posed to  progress,  intriguers  and  demagogues  that  find  their  parallel 
in  Don  Carlos  and  his  partisans.  The  Peruvian  nation,  especially  since 
the  victory  of  the  Chilians,  has  not  the  energy  and  hopeful  confidence 
of  youth;  it  is  sluggish  and  inclined  to  linger  in  the  old  ruts,  looking 
only  to  present  and  personal  interests,  and  not  to  the  future  and 
collective  welfare  of  the  nation.  One  of  the  greatest  curses  of  Peru, 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  PERU. 


and  the  phenomenon  which  chiefly  contributes  to  make  it  the  most 
backward  and  decadent  country  of  the  civilized  world,  is  its  govern- 
ment. The  politics  of  Peru  is  as  bad  as  it  can  be,  for  the  questions 
at  issue  are  almost  always  of  persons  rather  than  of  principles.  The 
presidents  have  too  much  power,  and  they  openly  take  advantage  of 
their  position  to  enrich  themselves.  Their  political  friends  do  like- 
wise, and  from  the  ministers  down  to  the  most  modest  custom-house 
employes,  all  make  the  best  use  of  their  time  while  it  is  their  turn 
to  be  in  office.  The  provincial  governors  have  but  one  obligation, 
namely,  to  work  with  the  central  government  in  all  political  matters; 
provided  that  condition  be  fulfilled,  they  are  free  to  administer  their 
provinces  as  they  please,  rob,  tyrannize,  and  grow  as  rich  as  they  can. 

Take  the  army,  again ; the  rank  and  file  are  Indians,  Cfiolos , and 
even  negroes,  who  are  mostly  impressed  into  the  service,  and  therefore 
never  lose  an  opportunity  of  deserting,  especially  in  the  country  sta- 
tions. Hence  the  necessity  of  having,  almost  literally,  more  officers 
than  men,  in  order  that  the  former  may  be  strong  enough  to  control 
the  latter  by  numbers  as  well  as  by  discipline.  In  the  villages  and 
haciendas , where  the  military  do  the  duty  of  rural  police,  you  will  gen- 
erally find  that  the  officers  have  a majority  of  one  over  the  men  they 
command.  These  Indian  and  Cholo  soldiers,  whom  you  see  standing 
at  the  street  corners  in  Lima,  doing  police  duty  and  blowing  their 
melancholy  watchman’s  whistles,  make  a lamentable  army  indeed,  as 
was  proved  in  the  late  war.  The  poor,  ignorant,  and  imbruted  creat- 
ures took  no  interest  in  the  cause;  indeed,  the  general  impression 
among  them  was  that  Chili  was  a revolutionary  leader,  and  they  spoke 
of  the  national  enemy  as  “ General  Chili.”  Their  souls  having  no  joy 
in  the  enforced  career  of  arms,  the  fellows  fought  well  enough  when 
there  was  no  means  of  escaping  from  the  foe,  but  if  there  was  the 
slightest  opening  they  preferred  to  run  away.  The  Chilians,  knowing 
this,  constantly  manoeuvred  so  as  to  give  the  Peruvian  Army  a chance 
to  flee,  and  thus  economized  their  own  men  and  their  powder  too. 

In  the  actual  condition  of  Peru  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  any  trust- 
worthy statistics  or  information  about  anything.  Since  the  war  no 
census  has  been  taken;  outside  of  Lima  taxes  are  collected  with  diffi- 
culty, and  so  even  approximate  estimates  are  impossible.  However, 
two  and  a half  millions  is  supposed  to  represent  the  present  population 
of  this  vast  territory,  which  has  1200  miles  of  coast-line,  and  a super- 
ficies of  more  than  a million  square  kilometres.  This  population  con- 
's 


226 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


sists  of  the  creole  governing,  proprietary,  and  official  classes,  ordinary 
Peruvians,  Indians,  cross-breeds, Chinese  coolies,  and  negroes.  There 
are  the  rich  and  the  poor,  both  apparently  satisfied  with  the  existing 
decadent  state  of  the  country,  or,  at  any  rate,  making  no  effort  to  im- 
prove it.  Truly  the  field  is  not  a tempting  one  for  colonists.  As  for 
commerce,  there  is  just  as  little  inducement  as  there  is  for  coloni- 
zation. During  the  last  ten  years  many  foreign  merchants  have  left 
the  country,  and  in  reply  to  inquiries  .from  would-be  commercial  immi- 
grants, most  of  the  embassies,  I find,  frankly  recommend  people  not 
to  go  out  either  to  Lima  or  to  other  towns.  And  yet  the  fact  remains 
that  Peru  is  marvellously  rich  in  mineral  deposits.  Gold,  platinum, 
silver,  copper,  tin,  lead,  iron,  cinnabar,  quicksilver,  and  coal  all  exist  in 
abundance.  Very  rich  petroleum  wells  are  now  being  worked  in  Ta- 
lara.  All  these  riches  must  one  day  be  utilized,  and  could  be  utilized 
at  present  if  capital  could  be  brought  into  the  country  and  energetic 
men  to  direct  the  enterprise,  and  if  at  the  same  time  a decent  and  set- 
tled political  administration  could  be  obtained,  which  latter  condition 
seems  very  doubtful.  The  field  for  mining  industry  in  Peru  is  im- 
mense, and  not  so  encumbered  with  prior  claims  and  occupants  as  it 
is  in  Chili,  but  the  difficulties  of  transport  are  enormous.  Neverthe- 
less, there  are  both  English  and  American  engineers  and  capitalists 
who  are  gradually  working  up  fine  businesses  in  the  mountains,  intro- 
ducing improved  machinery,  and  conquering  obstacles  of  all  kinds 
with  genuine  Anglo-Saxon  pertinacity.  On  the  other  hand,  consider- 
ing all  the  circumstances  already  briefly  set  forth,  and  awaiting  the 
grand  and  ardently  desired  opening  up  of  the  country  by  the  execu- 
tion of  the  Grace  contract,  there  are  perhaps  more  facilities  and  surer 
results  to  be  obtained  in  Bolivia,  and  on  the  other  side  of  the  Andes, 
in  the  Argentine  provinces  of  Rioja  and  San  Juan.  The  riches  of 
Peru  are  boundless  and  incontestable,  but  with  the  best  intentions 
and  the  best  will  in  the  world,  one  cannot  help  thinking  that  their 
adequate  and  convenient  utilization  is  still  remote. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


Smyth’s  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN — A COASTING  VOY- 
AGE IN  SOUTHERN  LATITUDES. 

HAVING  visited  the  more  accessible  parts  of  Peru,  the  question 
of  returning  to  the  east  coast  presented  itself,  and  received 
an  immediate  solution  when  I found  that  the  steamer  Osiris , of  the 
Deutsche  Dampfschiffsfahrt  Gesellschaft  “ Kosmos,”  was  lying  in  har- 
bor at  Callao,  about  to  sail  for  Hamburg  by  way  of  Smyth’s  Channel 
and  the  Strait  of  Magellan.  I had  heard  so  much  about  the  splendid 
scenery  of  this  extreme  southern  part  of  the  continent  that  I was  anx- 
ious to  see  it.  Here  was  an  excellent  opportunity.  Furthermore,  it 
was  getting  late  in  the  season  to  recross  the  Cordillera.  By  the  time 
that  I could  return  to  Valparaiso  in  the  ordinary  coasting  steamer, 
and  reach  the  starting-point  at  Los  Andes,  it  would  be  the  end  of 
April ; there  would  be  already  much  snow  on  the  mountains,  and  con- 
sequently the  ride  on  muleback  over  to  the  Argentine  Republic  would 
be  attended  both  with  discomfort  and  with  danger.  The  ordinary 
coasting  steamer,  again,  did  not  tempt  me.  In  going  northward  from 
Valparaiso  to  Callao  I had  visited  the  principal  ports  without  much 
pleasure  or  much  profit.  But  still  the  souvenirs  of  the  trip  were  not 
uninteresting.  Life  on  board  the  big  three-decked,  top-heavy  steam- 
ers, whether  of  the  Pacific  Steam  Navigation  Company  or  of  the  Com- 
pania  Sud-Americana,  with  their  motley  and  ever-changing  crowd  of 
passengers,  and  their  cargo  of  cattle,  vegetables,  provisions,  and  miscel- 
laneous goods,  is  rich  in  picturesque  incidents,  always  more  or  less  the 
same,  it  is  true,  but  none  the  less  amusing  to  an  idle  mind.  The  first 
port  at  which  we  touched  on  the  way  up  from  Valparaiso  to  Callao 
was  Coquimbo,  at  the  head  of  a pretty  bay  surrounded  and  sheltered 
by  jagged  and  rugged  brown  hills  not  quite  barren.  On  the  slopes 
near  the  shore  a few  poplar  trees  and  cultivated  patches  are  visible. 
The  valleys  in  the  interior  are  fertile,  for  we  are  still  in  the  intermedi- 
ate, mixed,  agricultural,  and  mineral  zone  of  Chili,  and,  besides  man- 
ganese, ores,  and  metal,  this  port  ships  abundance  of  cattle  and  vege- 


228 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


tables  for  the  northern  desert.  The  town,  with  its  gay-looking  white 
houses,  is  built  at  the  foot  of  the  hills;  along  the  shore  are  moles, 
warehouses,  and  smelting-works,  with  chimneys  vomiting  forth  volumes 
of  white  smoke.  In  the  bay  are  anchored  steamers,  sailing  ships,  and 
lighters,  around  which  swarms  of  sea-gulls  fly,  screaming  and  fighting 
for  the  offal  and  refuse  that  floats  on  the  water.  The  moment  the  an- 
chor is  lowered  scores  of  small  boats  surround  the  ship;  the  decks  are 
invaded  by  visitors,  whose  only  motive  is  curiosity  or  the  hope  of  steal- 
ing something;  many  women  of  the  lower  classes — brown-skinned  half- 
Indians,  with  straight  hair  growing  over  their  foreheads  almost  down 
to  their  eyebrows  — come  on  board  to  sell  fruit,  cakes,  and  needle- 
work. Meanwhile  lighters  have  been  moored  alongside,  the  winches 
are  at  work,  and  cargo  is  being  loaded  and  unloaded.  Some  of  the 
more  eminent  personages  of  the  town  come  to  see  the  captain  and 
consume  a “cocktail”  or  some  other  strong  drink  in  his  cabin,  while 
they  talk  over  the  latest  news  and  the  latest  scandals  of  the  coast.  So 
hour  after  hour  passes;  the  sun  sets,  the  glorious  rose-colored  after- 
glow illuminates  the  sky,  the  stars  shine  forth,  the  moon  rises,  and 
then  the  hill -side  town,  with  its  white  houses  standing  out  sharply 
against  the  back-ground  of  dark  rock,  assumes  an  Oriental  aspect,  re- 
minding one  of  the  island  ports  of  the  Greek  Archipelago,  whose 
sterile,  rocky  shores  are  not  unlike  those  of  the  Pacific  Coast.  Finally 
the  last  black  lighter,  with  its  load  of  white  flour-bags,  glides  noise- 
lessly from  the  ship's  side,  and  the  cigarettes  of  the  two  men  sculling 
at  the  stern  gleam  like  stars  against  the  semiobscurity  of  the  dark, 
vitreous  water.  Then,  with  a grating  and  rattling  of  winches  and 
chains,  the  anchor  is  weighed,  the  telegraph  bell  in  the  engine-room 
strikes  gravely,  and  so  we  steam  out  of  port  and  continue  our  course, 
the  ship  rolling  lazily  with  the  long  swell  of  the  Pacific.  Such  are  the 
main  incidents  of  the  programme  at  every  stopping-place.  At  Huasco 
the  coast  is  still  more  deserted  than  Coquimbo,  but  behind  the  mount- 
ains is  a very  rich  valley,  where  the  famous  Huasco  grapes  are  grown. 
Some  women  come  on  board  to  sell  these  grapes,  both  fresh  and  dried, 
the  latter  packed  in  old  cigar-boxes  pasted  over  with  paper.  On  the 
shore  are  smelting- works,  a few  houses,  and  a little  mole.  Here  we 
land  flour,  timber,  iron,  and  pipes.  The  next  port  of  Caldera  is  similar 
to  those  of  Coquimbo  and  Huasco,  with  the  usual  smelting-works  and 
rugged  rocks,  some  of  which  are  white  with  guano  deposits.  All 
along  the  coast  you  see,  from  time  to  time,  these  brilliant  white  guano 


SMYTH'S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


229 


rocks,  which  show  up  on  clear  nights  and  serve  as  landmarks  in  the 
absence  of  light-houses.  The  next  port  of  Chanaral  is  already  within 
the  rainless  zone;  the  rocky  hills  are  devoid  of  vegetation;  everything 
is  brown,  barren,  and  inhospitable.  The  ports  farther  north,  Taltal, 
Antofagasta,  Iquique,  and  Pisagua,  are  similar,  and  the  journey  con- 
tinues full  of  sameness  and  monotony  until  we  reach  the  Peruvian 
ports  of  Arica,  Mollendo,  Pisco,  Somas,  and  Tambo  de  Mora,  where  a 
few  trees,  and  occasionally  a fertile  valley,  may  be  seen  creeping 
down  to  the  sea  between  the  coast  hills,  still  brown  and  arid,  or,  at 
best,  dotted  with  the  parched  and  black  silhouettes  of  candle  cactus. 
All  this  is  curious  to  see,  but  one  does  not  care  to  see  it  twice.  I was 
therefore  glad  to  find  that  the  Osiris  was  advertised  to  touch  only  at 
the  ports  of  Antofagasta  and  Taltal,  between  Callao  and  Valparaiso, 
and  then  at  Talcahuano,  Coronel,  Corral,  Punta  Arenas,  and  Monte- 
video. This  suited  me  perfectly,  and  so  I took  passage  to  the  last- 
named  port,  and  went  on  board  on  the  night  of  Saturday,  March  29, 
1890. 

From  Callao  to  Valparaiso  we  were  only  two  passengers,  a Peru- 
vian boy,  who  was  going  to  school  at  Cassel,  in  Germany,  and  myself. 
The  first  impressions  of  the  German  ship  were  most  agreeable.  The 
captain,  C.  Carlsen,  proved  to  be  a simple,  warm-hearted,  and  accom- 
plished gentleman,  as  well  as  an  expert  seaman.  The  other  officers 
were  pleasant,  blond,  blue-eyed  Germans,  as  hearty  and  unassuming 
as  their  commander.  The  doctor,  of  a more  sluggish  temperament, 
was  a typical  Saxon  from  Dresden,  and  had  evidently  been  a model 
German  student,  for  his  face  was  seamed  and  slashed  with  sword- 
cuts  that  bore  witness  to  more  valor  than  fencing  skill.  The  boy,  Jose 
Antonio,  had  a gentle  disposition  and  excellent  manners,  and  so  we 
lost  no  time  in  becoming  a very  happy  family,  the  more  so  as  the 
Osiris  was  favored  with  the  services  of  two  cooks  whose  talent  was 
worthy  of  a more  glorious  sphere.  On  the  morning  of  March  30th 
we  were  towed  out  of  the  Darsena  of  Callao,  which,  by-the-way,  is  the 
creation  and  property  of  a French  company.  On  April  2d  we  stayed 
for  a few  hours  at  Antofagasta,  with  its  smoky  smelting  and  nitrate 
works,  its  sand  slopes,  and  its  barren  brown  hills  veined  with  mule 
paths,  where  the  loose  earth  appears  of  a lighter  yellow  shade.  Here 
we  took  on  board  sacks  of  borax  and  silver  ore,  the  latter  from  the 
Huanchaca  mines,  and  from  the  old  Spanish  mines  of  Potosi.  On 
April  4th  we  arrived  at  Taltal,  where  we  were  greatly  delayed  by  the 


230 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


holidays  of  Good  Friday  and  Easter.  We  had  many  hundred  tons  of 
nitrate  to  take  on  board,  but  the  stevedores  refused  to  work  on  feast- 
days,  and  so  we  had  to  stay  a full  week  in  the  sheltered  bay,  sur- 
rounded by  brown  jagged  rocks  and  hills.  The  time  passed  rapidly 
and  pleasantly.  Our  captain,  being  an  ardent  water-color  painter, 
was  always  appealing  for  advice  in  the  choice  of  points  of  view,  and 
this  was  a pretext  for  excursions  in  the  gig  to  the  north  and  south 
headlands  of  the  bay,  where  he  made  harmonies  in  ochre  and  cobalt, 
while  the  engineer  and  myself  collected  sea -anemones,  shells,  and 
mineralogical  specimens.  On  the  south  headland  we  picked  up  aurif- 
erous quartz,  and  the  north  headland  proved  to  be  a mass  of  iron- 
stone interspersed  with  rich  lodes  of  copper.  We  also  made  a very 
interesting  excursion  up  the  mountains  some  fifty  miles  by  rail,  to  the 
Santa  Luisa  and  Lautaro  nitrate-works,  which  were  created  by  Ger- 
man enterprise,  and  are  now  being  managed  by  Germans  working 
with  English  capital.  The  Santa  Luisa  oficina  is  fitted  with  modern 
machinery  as  fine  as  that  which  I saw  in  some  of  the  best  establish- 
ments of  the  Tarapaca  district,  but  as  I had  fully  studied  the  latter  I 
found  nothing  special  to  remark.  The  presence  of  gold  and  copper, 
however,  renders  the  Taltal  extremely  interesting,  and  the  railway 
journey  up  the  steep  quebrada  and  across  the  higher  hills  and  pampas 
was  very  striking,  and  even  more  strangely  picturesque  than  the 
journey  from  Iquique  to  Pisagua  across  the  Pampa  of  Tamarugal. 
Up  ravines,  along  precipices,  and  across  sandy  wastes,  the  line  winds 
higher  and  higher  through  solitude  and  sunshine.  For  some  distance 
the  old  cart-road  lined  with  skeletons  of  mules  follows  the  railway 
track,  sprinkled  on  each  side  with  black  fragments  of  half -consumed 
coal  from  the  straining  locomotive  engines.  Occasionally  we  see  a 
name,  or  some  initials  and  a date,  traced  on  the  sand  in  black  with 
these  bits  of  coal,  that  look  like  very  coarse  gunpowder.  These 
records  of  transient  workmen  and  a few  broken  bottles  are  the  only 
evidences  of  the  presence  of  man  between  the  distant  wooden  sheds 
that  serve  as  stations.  Far  and  near  rise  red-brown  hills,  fading  into 
rose,  indigo,  and  purple  in  the  distance.  Occasionally  a patch  of  pale- 
green,  spreading  below  a hole  in  the  hill-side,  catches  the  eye  and 
marks  the  position  of  a copper  mine.  Then  comes  a stony  desert,  the 
sand  in  the  foreground  dotted  with  black  flinty  fragments,  whose 
smooth  facets  catch  the  light  and  glisten  like  silver  mirrors.  Finally 
we  reach  the  gray  and  dazzling  white  salitreras,  devoured  by  excessive 


SMYTH’S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


231 


sunlight  and  bathed  in  heated  air,  the  visible  trepidation  of  which 
quivers  and  trembles  like  phantasmal  smoke.  At  the  moment  of  our 
arrival  the  three  hundred  mules  of  the  Santa  Luisa  oficina  had  been 
let  out  of  the  corrals  to  air  themselves,  and  were  wandering  over  the 
undulating  ground  and  rolling  with  delight  in  the  dust.  From  each 
rolling  mule  rose  a cloud  of  white  dust,  like  a puff  from  a cannon, 
which  was  wafted  away  in  a moment  by  the  strong  afternoon  breeze. 
This  strange  and  wild  landscape,  the  rolling  mules,  the  innumerable 
little  clouds  of  dust,  the  great  brown  refuse -heap,  the  red  cooling- 
tanks  of  the  works,  and  the  two  tall  chimneys,  with  their  crests  of 
velvety-black  smoke,  all  in  the  deep  solitude  of  this  sunny,  arid  desert, 
impressed  me  exceptionally  as  something  rare  and  eccentric,  although 
to  the  reader  it  may  appear  very  ordinary  and  scarcely  worth  noting. 
But  is  not  this  always  the  case  in  descriptions,  especially  of  landscape? 
Words  are  but  feeble  exponents,  and  sensations  lose  in  intensity  what 
they  gain  in  expansion.  The  best  of  life  is  that  which  remains  unex- 
pressed. The  best  of  a writer’s  impressions  remain  obstinately  at  the 
bottom  of  his  ink-pot. 

At  Santa  Luisa,  and  also  at  Taltal,  we  were  the  recipients  of  much 
hearty  German  hospitality,  spent  several  pleasant  evenings  enlivened 
by  excellent  music,  and  parted  with  regret  from  many  new  acquaint- 
ances whose  social  and  intellectual  qualities  we  could  have  wished  to 
enjoy  longer.  Our  cargo  was  at  last  on  board,  and  we  steamed  out  of 
Taltal  Bay,  and  arrived  without  incident  at  Valparaiso  on  April  14th. 
My  impressions  of  this  port  received  no  modification  from  a second 
visit.  It  is  a town  without  character,  neither  Chilian,  nor  English, 
nor  German,  and  neither  agreeable  nor  disagreeable.  However,  I 
managed  to  pass  a pleasant  day  on  shore,  and  paid  some  farewell  calls 
to  persons  at  whose  hands  I had  received  kindness,  not  forgetting  the 
venerable  proprietor  of  the  Hotel  Colon,  Senor  Kerbernhardt,  the 
uncle  of  the  divine  Sarah  Bernhardt,  who  lent  me  the  latest  bun- 
dle of  Le  Figaro , and  gave  me  news  of  his  niece’s  triumph  in  her 
new  role  of  Jeanne  d’Arc.  I talked  also  with  several  business  men 
and  politicians,  and  found  that  the  feeling  against  President  Bal- 
maceda  was  stronger  even  than  it  was  at  the  time  of  my  first  visit. 
The  government  is  bad,  is  the  cry.  The  unlimited  authority  of 
the  Executive  is  disastrous.  The  unreasoned  and  wasteful  expend- 
iture of  the  public  funds  on  useless  railways,  extravagant  schools, 
Krupp  cannons,  and  indirect  political  bribery  is  endangering  the 


232 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


prosperity  of  the  country,  lowering  the  exchange,  and  hampering 
business. 

On  April  1 6th  we  sailed  from  Valparaiso,  but  the  Osiris  was  no 
longer  the  quiet  and  simple  home  that  I had  enjoyed  almost  alone 
from  Callao  southward.  Every  cabin  was  full,  and  twenty  first-class 
passengers,  the  limit  of  the  ship’s  accommodation,  now  sat  down  to 
dinner,  exclusive  of  several  small  children.  Who  were  all  these  good 
people?  Were  they  pleasant  and  sociable?  Were  they  noisy  and 
disagreeable  ? Would  life  on  board  become  unendurable,  in  spite  of 
electric  light,  good  food,  and  comfortable  quarters  ? Such  were  the 
questions  that  very  naturally  came  into  my  selfish  mind  as  I looked 
upon  my  travelling  companions  with  mingled  curiosity  and  alarm. 
The  latter  feeling  was  quite  groundless.  Before  bedtime  I was  ac- 
quainted with  all  of  them.  Herr  A.,  his  wife  and  daughter,  thirty- 
four  years  in  Chili,  going  home  for  the  first  time  since  he  came  out 
in  a sailing  ship;  a gentle  old  couple,  silvery-haired  and  happy.  Herr 
B.,  wife,  and  two  small  children,  twenty-three  years  a merchant  in 
Valparaiso,  going  home  for  a season  at  some  baths  for  his  stomach’s 
sake,  and  also  to  spend  a year  in  European  travel.  Herr  C.,  his  wife, 
and  his  daughter  Olga,  five  years  of  age,  a Russian  family  sixteen, 
years  in  Chili,  ship-owner  and  timber  merchant.  Herr  D.  and  his 
wife,  a brunette  of  delicate  Oriental  type  and  sweet  voice.  Herr  D. 
and  his  companion,  Herr  E.,  are  connected  with  the  Krupp  cannon 
purchases  made  by  the  Chilian  Government.  Herr  Capitan-Leutnant 
F.,  also  anxious  to  supply  lethal  instruments  to  South  American  re- 
publics. Frau  G.  and  little  Max,  a very  noisy  young  man  of  eight 
years.  Frau  H.,  professional  pianist.  Fraulein  von  X.,  gifted  with  a 
fine  voice  and  operatic  aspirations,  and  intending  to  study  in  the 
Berlin  Academy  of  Music.  All  these  ladies  and  gentlemen  were  re- 
fined, amiable,  and  unpretentious  people,  who  had  seen  much  of  the 
world,  and  were  endowed  with  homely  virtues  and  human  kindness — 
sensible,  polyglot,  and  well-behaved  men  and  women,  whose  views  on 
things  in  general  were  not  of  a nature  to  alarm  or  even  slightly  to 
perturb.  Most  of  them,  I afterwards  discovered,  were  admirers  of 
Georges  Ohnet’s  novels,  and  preferred  them  to  those  of  Alphonse 
Daudet,  thus  proving  themselves  to  be  good  bourgeois.  The  artistic 
tastes  of  my  companions,  however,  concerned  me  very  little.  I was 
charmed  by  their  more  human  qualities,  and,  with  the  anticipation 
of  a pleasant  journey,  I settled  down  to  read  a few  new  French 


SMYTH’S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


233 


books  that  I had  bought  in  Valparaiso.  A novel  by  Rabusson  I 
soon  laid  aside,  declaring  to  myself  that  this  writer  of  sentimental 
romances  is  the  Georges  Ohnet  of  the  upper  tendom  of  La  Revue  des 
Deux  Mondes,  commonplace  in  observation  and  in  expression,  a 
skilled  literary  workman  rather  than  a literary  artist.  The  next 
morning,  after  noting  the  gray  mist  that  gave  to  the  calm  sea  the 
aspect  of  a tarnished  mirror,  I began  to  read  J.  Ricard’s  Coetirs 
Inquiets , and  tasted  the  joy  of  chiselled,  intense  prose  where  the 
epithets  are  exact,  striking,  and  evocative,  the  observation  delicate  and 
personal,  the  presentation  rapid  and  novel.  What  a pleasure  it  was 
to  read  this  work  of  an  artist  after  four  months’  wandering  among: 
strange  people  in  lands  that  have  no  literature  and  but  little  care  for 
literature.  With  what  joy,  too,  did  I read  Pierre  Loti’s  Ati  Maroc , 
enviously  marvelling  at  the  perfection  which  French  prose  has  at- 
tained in  the  hands  of  generation  after  generation  of  writers  who  have 
been  at  the  same  time  artists. 

We  were  now  anchored  in  the  bay  of  Coronel.  The  Osiris  was 
surrounded  by  lighters  laden  with  coal,  which  was  being  rapidly 
shovelled  into  the  bunks  by  squads  of  dark-skinned  natives.  The 
ivhite  mist  that  hung  over  us  made  the  water  look  like  dull  silver;  in 
the  foreground  were  ships  at  anchor  and  small  lighters  provided  with 
winches  and  nets  for  dredging  up  the  bits  of  coal  that  fall  into  the 
water  while  the  steamers  are  loading;  in  the  background  were  the 
winding  wheels  of  the  coal-pits;  the  moles  surmounted  by  trains  of 
coal  trucks ; the  sickly  sulphurous  smoke  streams  of  the  inevitable 
smelting-works ; the  small  town  of  Coronel  clustered  along  the  sandy 
black  beach;  and,  behind,  the  green  hills  diapered  with  mule  paths 
and  patches  of  red  or  yellow  earth.  The  meals  of  the  coal-heavers  on 
the  foredeck  interested  us.  Great  bowls  of  beans,  lumps  of  salt  beef 
and  fat,  piles  of  biscuit,  and  gallons  of  coffee  were  served  out  to  them. 
Each  man  took  what  he  needed  of  the  solids,  chose  his  corner  on 
the  rail,  over  the  hatches,  or  simply  on  the  bare  deck,  and  ate  with  no 
more  comfort  than  a dog.  Then  each  man  produced  a large  violet 
mussel  shell,  which  he  used  in  lieu  of  a spoon  to  scoop  up  the  beans 
and  drink  the  coffee.  Let  it  be  remarked  that  these  coal-heavers  earn 
high  wages,  as  much  as  five  Chilian  dollars,  or  say  ten  shillings  gold, 
a day,  and  their  food  gratis;  and  yet  they  remain  little  better  than 
good-natured  brutes,  taking  no  strong  drink  while  they  are  at  work, 
but  ready  for  any  quantity  of  dissipation  after  sunset,  improvident  in 


234 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


the  extreme,  and  willing  to  work,  and  to  work  well,  only  when  they 
have  no  money  left  to  spend.  While  watching  those  strong  muscular 
fellows,  I had  some  conversation  with  the  Russian  timber  merchant 
about  his  experience  of  men  and  things  in  Chili,  the  subject  having 
been  led  up  to  by  my  remarking  the  frequent  evidences  of  primitive- 
ness in  Chilian  methods  of  working.  Speaking  of  the  great  strength 
and  hardiness  of  the  Chilian  native  laborer,  Herr  C.  said  that  this  was 
still  more  noticeable  in  the  more  southern  forest  districts.  At  Puerto 
Montt,  for  instance,  which  is  one  of  the  most  important  timber  ports, 
the  work  is  done  entirely  by  hand.  The  trees  are  felled  with  axes, 
sawn  into  planks  on  the  spot  by  hand,  and  the  planks  carried  to  the 
port  from  a distance  of  ten  or  twelve  miles  balanced  on  the  shoulder 
of  a man,  who  goes  along  under  his  burden  at  a run.  None  but  native 
Chilians  could  do  such  work,  and,  given  the  absence  of  roads,  and 
above  all  the  nature  of  the  workmen,  all  attempts  to  modernize  the 
methods  of  getting  out  the  timber  have  failed.  Experiments  have 
been  made  in  introducing  North  American  machinery,  but  without 
success.  The  innovators  have  invariably  lost  their  money,  and  the 
natives,  accustomed  to  do  everything  with  their  hands,  have  in  the 
end  wilfully  broken  the  machinery  in  order  to  have  done  with  it.  I 
mentioned  the  fact  that  the  Chilian  Government,  as  I had  been  in- 
formed, meditated  the  essay  of  Norwegian  and  Swedish  colonists  in 
these  southern  forest  regions.  Herr  C.  was  of  opinion  that  this 
scheme  is  utterly  impracticable,  for  the  simple  reason  that  Scandi- 
navian colonists  would  refuse  to  live  like  pigs,  as  the  Chilians  live. 
The  present  primitive  methods  are  the  cheapest  and  the  most  prac- 
tical. For  that  matter,  Herr  C.  assured  me  that  the  timber  cutters 
were  a sad  set  of  rogues  and  thieves,  that  the  business  was  necessarily 
speculative  in  the  present  conditions,  and  that  the  bad  debts  mounted 
up  to  an  enormous  figure  in  the  course  of  a year.  In  Chili  if  a man 
does  not  want  to  pay,  you  cannot  force  him,  he  added,  and  no  one 
who  has  had  any  experience  of  the  country  will  ever  think  of  going 
to  law.  In  Chili  there  is  no  justice  for  gringos , as  the  foreigners 
are  called.  This  opinion  I had  heard  expressed  by  many  foreign- 
ers in  business  in  Chili,  so  that  my  informant’s  words  did  not  aston- 
ish me.  His  commercial  position,  however,  lent  additional  weight  to 
the  allegation. 

In  the  evening,  after  dinner,  when  the  coal-heavers  and  their  noisy 
shovels  have  departed,  we  have  some  music.  Our  accomplished 


SMYTH'S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


235 


captain  begins  the  improvised  concert  with  some  soft  music  on  the 
zither,  and  then  the  ladies  play  Schubert,  and  Fraulein  von  X.  sings 
songs  which  the  audience  enthusiastically  declares  to  be  wunderschon , 
prachtvoll , and  wunderhubsch;  but,  being  in  a perverse  mood,  I say  to 
myself  that  I prefer  the  wailing  Moorish  songs  of  Andalusia,  the  shrill 
flutes  of  the  Arabs,  the  iron  castagnettes  of  the  dark-skinned  dancing 
women  of  Africa.  And  this  reflection  brings 
to  my  mind  the  few  Moorish  traits  that  have 
remained  in  South  America  from  the  old  co- 
lonial days — the  shawls  that  veil  the  heads  of 
the  women, 
the  mules 
and  the  street 
life  that  re- 
mind one  of 
S t a m b o u 1 
and  Spanish 
Cordova,  the 
arrieros  who 

calm  their  mules  with  a “Ts! 
ts!  ts!”  the  very  same  sound 
that  the  Arab  camel -drivers 
have  employed  from  time  im- 
memorial. 

We  left  Coronel  and  its  bay, 
full  of  star-fish  and  polypuses, 
on  the  night  of  April  20th.  The 
next  morning  I woke  up  to  find 

a strong  north  wind  blowing  astern,  rain  falling  heavily,  the  decks 
dripping,  water  pattering  down  on  all  sides,  and  the  ship  rolling  over 
a leaden  sea,  with  a heavy  swell  piling  up  the  gloomy  waters  into  rest- 
less hillocks.  The  rain  and  rolling  accompanied  us  to  the  beautiful 
sheltered  harbor  of  Corral,  where  we  anchored  in  the  midst  of  verdant 
hills,  whose  mantle  of  rich  green  trees  reached  down  to  the  very  wa- 
ter’s edge,  and  over  whose  summits  the  gray  heavy  clouds  hung  like 
smoke,  now  thickening,  now  lifting  for  a moment,  now  streaming  down 
in  fine  rain,  and  then  giving  place  to  other  clouds.  Corral,  latitude  39 
53'  south,  is  the  port  of  Valdivia,  and  lies  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  of 
the  same  name.  The  harbor  is  formed  by  a sort  of  fiord,  very  much 


HARBOR  OF  CORRAL. 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


236 


like  those  of  Norway.  At  the  entrance  the  headlands  are  crowned 
by  old  fortresses.  To  the  right,  at  the  end  of  a bay,  sheltered 
by  wooded  hills,  is  the  little  town  of  Corral,  straggling  along  the 
beach  and  up  the  first  spurs  of  the  hills,  one  of  which,  overhanging 
the  sea,  is  surmounted  by  the  battlements  of  a picturesque  old  Span- 
ish fort,  with  quaint  sentry-boxes  at  the  angles.  We  naturally  go 
ashore  and  inspect  this  relic  of  the  days  of  the  conquistadores , decipher 
the  dates  on  the  dismantled  cannons  that  lie  on  the  ground,  which  is 
covered  with  a velvety  carpet  of  small-leafed  clover  of  the  most  deli- 
cate tone  of  green,  visit  the  abandoned  barracks  and  the  stores  full  of 
pyramids  of  cannon-balls,  and  then  mount  the  steep  causeway,  and 
pass  out  into  the  main  street  of  the  town,  which  crosses  several 
mountain  streams  by  means  of  rough  bridges  of  planks.  Corral  is  all 
up  and  down;  the  houses  rise  one  above  the  other,  with  solid  sloping 
gambrel-roofs  to  throw  off  the  rain,  which,  according  to  local  report, 
falls  thirteen  months  out  of  the  twelve  in  these  parts;  rivulets  of  water 
are  running  in  every  direction,  and  now  and  again  the  road  creeps  along 

under  a dripping 
rock  covered  with 
maidenhair  and 
other  ferns,  while 
every  cottage  and 
every  lane  is  be- 
decked with  a lux- 
uriant growth  of 
fuchsia,  foxglove, 
creeping  periwinkle,  honeysuckle, 
and  lapigeria.  The  town  of  Val- 
divia, 23,000  inhabitants,  situated 
about  ten  miles  away  up  the  river, 
nestles  in  even  a richer  wealth  of 
verdure  and  flowers.  The  journey 
up  the  river  between  the  wooded  banks  and  islands  is  delightful, 
provided  the  view  is  not  hopelessly  obscured  by  low  drifting  clouds 
that  are  blown  in  from  the  sea,  and  deposit  their  fertilizing  show- 
ers with  too  great  liberality  on  the  luxuriant  vegetation  of  this 
moist  zone.  Valdivia,  with  its  breweries,  tanneries,  saw-mills,  and 
commodious  wooden  houses,  is  an  entirely  German  town;  a large  pro- 
portion of  the  inhabitants  are  German;  the  language,  the  customs, 


VALDIVIA. 


SMYTH'S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


237 


the  civilization  are  German,  which  is  equivalent  to  saying  that  every- 
thing in  the  town  looks  prosperous  and  comfortable.  My  travelling 
companions  had  several  friends  in  Valdivia,  and  returned  to  the  ship 
laden  with  flowers  and  with  baskets  of  beautiful  Grafenstein  apples. 
They  also  brought  a new  passenger,  Herr  Z.,  a frosty  old  gentleman, 
with  a small  aquiline  nose  and  an  uncommon  musical  talent,  which 
he  revealed  at  the  earliest  opportunity.  Meanwhile  the  Osiris  had 
completed  her  cargo  by  taking  on  board  several  hundred  rolls  of  sole- 
leather,  one  of  the  chief  exports  of  this  region,  the  others  being  timber, 
live  cattle,  and  beer.  The  ship  now  carried  the  following  specimens 
of  the  produce  of  the  Pacific  coast:  salted  hides,  silver  ore,  cocoa,  and 
cotton  from  Peru;  borax  and  silver  ore  from  Antofagasta;  nitrate, 
gold  ore,  gold  ingots,  and  iodine  from  Taltal;  hides,  copper  bars,  lead, 
bones,  hoofs,  and  horns  from  Valparaiso,  also  some  walnuts  and 
barley  to  be  delivered  in  Montevideo;  sole-leather  from  Talcahuano; 
and  a great  quantity  of  sole-leather  from  Valdivia.  These  goods,  to 
be  delivered  in  the  ports  of  Havre  and  Hamburg,  together  with  the 
coal,  made  a total  dead  weight  of  3300  tons,  the  maximum  capacity  of 
the  ship,  which  has  a registered  tonnage  of  1875  tons  net.* 

In  the  night  of  April  2 2d  we  steamed  through  mist  and  rain  out 
of  Corral  Harbor,  and  regained  the  rolling  ocean.  The  next  morning 
we  woke  up  to  find  the  sun  shining,  but  the  swell  was  still  very  heavy. 
In  the  course  of  the  day  we  sighted  a whale,  and  about  latitude  41° 
south  the  first  albatross  appeared,  swooping  to  and  fro  in  the  wake 


* Having  had  occasion  while  studying  the  question  of  freights  and  of  the  means  of 
transport  at  the  disposal  of  international  commerce  between  North  America  and  Europe 
and  the  Pacific  ports,  I had  noted  the  extremely  cheap  rates  of  the  German  ships.  I took 
advantage  of  my  voyage  on  board  the  Osiris  to  gather  some  information  which  will  help  to 
explain  why  the  German  ships  can  compete  so  successfully  against  the  commercial  navies 
of  the  world.  A notable  part  of  the  secret  consists  in  the  cheapness  of  life  in  Germany, 
the  frugality  of  the  nation,  and  the  fact  that  Germans  are  willing  to  do  a great  deal  of  work 
for  very  little  money.  German  ships  are  worked  very  cheaply  and  with  the  fewest  hands 
possible.  The  Osiris,  for  instance,  has  a crew  of  forty-two  men  and  one  boy,  whose  salaries 
per  month  are  as  follows:  captain,  ^25  sterling,  first  officer,  £9;  second  officer,  £6;  third 
officer,  _^4  5s. ; doctor,  £\  io.y. ; chief  engineer,  £17  \ second  engineer,  £11  4^. ; third  engi- 
neer, ^6;  fourth  engineer,  £5  15J. ; first  carpenter,  £^  5^. ; second  carpenter,  £2 ; first  boat- 
swain, £^\  second  boatswain,  £3  ios. ; nine  A.  B.  seamen,  each  £2',  seven  stokers,  each  £2 
1 55-. ; six  trimmers,  each  £2  55. ; two  cooks,  one  at  £2.  the  other  at  £2  ioj.  ; first  steward, 
£2  5-J-;  four  under  stewards  at  £1  10s.  each.  There  is  no  purser  or  supercargo  or  other 
consequential  person  to  play  the  gentleman ; all  on  board  have  to  work  hard,  and  the  offi- 
cers look  after  the  cargo  and  do  clerks'  business,  as  well  as  navigate  the  ship.  The  A.  B.’s, 
I remarked,  were  picked  men,  always  quiet,  clean,  and  busy,  and  at  night,  after  supper,  the 
table  of  their  mess-room  was  invariably  covered  with  books  and  illustrated  periodicals. 


238 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


of  the  ship,  accompanied  by  quantities  of  cape  pigeons,  which  the 
French  call  damiers,  from  the  geometrical  distribution  of  black  and 
white  feathers  on  their  wings.  The  rectangular  outline,  the  pointed 
tip,  and  the  symmetrical  markings  of  these  pigeons,  seen  as  they  fly 
with  their  wings  spread  perfectly  flat,  suggested  to  me  the  figures  of 
birds  in  the  hieroglyphics  of  ancient  Egypt.  The  two  following  days 
were  rough  and  rainy,  and  we,  who  had  come  down  from  the  tropics, 
began  to  feel  the  cold  and  put  on  warm  clothing.  As  the  ship  rolled 
along  between  leaden  sky  and  leaden  water  there  was  no  consolation 
to  be  sought  on  deck,  and  so  music,  fancy-work,  and  the  favorite  Ger- 
man card  game  called  “ skat  ” brought  all  the  passengers  together  in 
the  smoking-room  and  the  ladies’  saloon,  where  we  passed  many  hours 
of  ennui.  Herr  Z.  amused  us  by  sitting  at  the  piano,  playing  a soft 
accompaniment,  and  whistling  waltzes,  operas,  sonatas,  and  I know 
not  what,  with  curious  virtuosity  wagging  his  venerable  head  to  aug- 
ment the  rapidity  of  his  trills.  So  on  Friday,  April  25th,  we  reached 
the  southern  end  of  the  Gulf  of  Penas,  and  found  ourselves  within 
sight  of  the  entrance  of  Smyth’s  Channel,  and  already  sheltered  by 
the  westerly  islands.  The  night  had  been  rough  but  clear,  a little 
snow  had  fallen,  but  we  had  happily  been  able  to  navigate  without 
difficulty  in  these  waters,  which  are  not  without  danger.  In  the 
morning,  after  some  rain,  the  sky  began  to  break,  and  we  saw  to  the 
left  the  island  of  Ayautau,  570  feet  high,  and  to  the  right  the  Guaia- 
neco  group,  all  harmonized  in  masses  of  deep  velvety  blue,  with  gray 
clouds  rent  on  their  peaks,  clinging  to  their  rugged  sides,  and  piled 
up  in  Alpine  silhouettes  above  them.  The  water  is  of  a brownish- 
yellow  color.  Off  Sombrero  Island,  1345  feet  high,  we  celebrate  our 
safe  arrival  at  the  entrance  of  the  channel  with  strong  drinks,  all  the 
more  welcome  as  the  wind  is  icily  cold.  The  ladies  appear  on  deck 
in  furs,  their  heads  enveloped  in  bewitching  sorties  de  ba /,  and  we  pre- 
pare to  enjoy  the  scenery  of  which  we  have  heard  so  much.  Here  it 
must  be  explained  that  Smyth’s  Channel  is  a passage  between  the 
islands  and  the  extreme  southern  coast  of  the  South  American  conti- 
nent, extending  from  the  Gulf  of  Penas  to  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  and 
measuring  from  Ayautau  Island,  latitude  470  36'  south,  longitude  740 
45'  west,  to  Fairway  Island,  latitude  520  44'  south,  longitude  730  47' 
west,  338  miles  in  length,  with  a breadth  varying  between  one-fifth  of 
a mile  minimum  and  five  miles  maximum,  the  average  width  being 
about  two  miles.  It  is,  so  to  speak,  a narrow  submarine  ravine  wind- 


SMYTH'S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


239 


ing  between  mountains,  which,  in  the  great  upheaval  that  produced 
the  American  continent,  remained  partly  submerged.  This  ravine,  full 
of  water,  with  a depth  in  many  parts  of  more  than  five  hundred  fath- 
oms, constitutes  the  channel ; the  sloping  side  valleys,  where  the  depth 
of  water  is  less,  form  sounds,  inlets,  and  harbors  with  safe  anchorage. 
The  abortive  continent  above  water  presents  the  aspect  of  a chaos  of 
peaks,  ridges,  and  glaciers  that  tower  up  to  heights  of  1500  to  3000 
feet,  with  a few  lofty  summits,  like  those  of  Cathedral  Mount,  Mount 


NEAR  NORTH  ENTRANCE  OF  SMYTH’S  CHANNEL,  LOOKING  BACK  NORTHWARD. 


Jarvis,  and  Mount  Burney,  which  attain  respectively  3836,  4570,  and 
5800  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  advantage  which  Smyth’s 
Channel  offers  to  navigation  is  calm  water  like  that  of  a lake,  whereas 
the  course  in  the  ocean  outside  is  almost  always  rough  and  dangerous. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  impossible  to  navigate  in  this  sinuous  laby- 
rinth of  islands  except  by  daylight,  and  consequently  the  swift  mail 
steamers  never  pass  that  way.  The  only  regular  line  of  passenger 
steamers  that  follows  this  course  is  that  of  the  “ Kosmos  ” Company. 
The  ships  of  the  other  lines  all  pass  through  the  Strait  of  Magellen, 
or,  in  certain  circumstances  on  the  outward  voyage,  through  the 
south-eastern  portion  of  Smyth’s  Channel,  and  then  out  again,  through 
Trinidad  Channel,  back  into  the  Magellan  Strait.  All  sailing  vessels 
of  course  have  to  round  the  terrible  Cape  Horn. 


240 


THE  SPAXISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


So  then  we  enter  the  channel,  and  the  panorama  of  cloud-land  and 
mountain  begins  to  unfold  itself  before  our  eyes.  The  clouds  are 
massed  over  the  mountains  in  grand  strata  of  black,  slate-gray,  and 
silver.  In  the  middle  of  the  landscape,  over  the  eastern  horizon,  a 
brilliant  blue  rent  in  the  sky  reveals  the  golden  lining  of  sunlit 
clouds.  Gradually  the  trees  on  the  islands  become  visible,  with  their 
rich  green  foliage.  Towards  noon  we  reach  Middle  Island,  a conical 
peak  2200  feet  high,  standing  in  the  middle  of  the  channel.  The 
banks  on  either  side  are  green,  wooded  mountains,  with  here  and 
there  an  isolated  patch  of  snow  on  the  higher  points,  which  are  up- 
wards of  two  thousand  feet  high.  From  the  summits  the  water 
trickles  down  in  threads  of  white  foam  that  peep  out  amid  the  yellow 
or  black  s:reen  verdure  that  clothes  the  red-brown  rocks.  As  we  ad- 

o 

vance,  the  water-falls  and  patches  of  snow  become  more  frequent,  and 
small  blue  glaciers  appear  on  the  heights.  The  weather  continues 
cloudy.  The  water  is  of  a yellowish-green  tone ; the  hills  in  the  fore- 
ground are  of  a dark-green  color,  almost  black,  down  to  the  water’s 
edge,  while  the  upper  peaks  seem  to  be  covered  with  yellowish  moss 
and  lichen.  In  the  distance  are  the  silhouettes  of  islands  and  mount- 
ains of  sombre  indigo  blue,  and  overhead  is  the  ever-changing  ex- 
panse of  gray,  black,  and  silvery  clouds. 

At  one  o’clock  a great  event  happens  to  break  the  monotony  of 
our  existence  on  board.  The  fat  pig  that  was  put  on  board  when  the 
Osiris  left  Hamburg,  and  which  has  been  living  happily  in  its  stall 
ever  since,  is  slaughtered  by  the  cook,  the  body  plunged  in  boiling 
water,  the  bristles  scraped  off,  and  the  carcass  suspended  from  the 
shrouds,  ready  to  be  cut  up.  At  the  same  time  the  holy-stoning  of 
the  foredeck  begins,  and  three  amateur  photographers  feel  tempted  to 
“snap  off”  negatives.  The  bewitching  Olga,  the  diminutive  baby 
boy  Quito,  and  various  groups  also  request  the  honors  of  the  camera, 
and  so  the  afternoon  passes  gayly.  Meanwhile,  as  we  advance,  the 
scenery  becomes  more  picturesque  and  grand,  the  mountains  on 
either  side  rising  to  heights  of  2000  feet,  and  snow  fields  and  glaciers 
becoming  more  frequent.  To  our  right  a buoy  marks  the  spot  where 
the  steamer  Cotopaxi  was  wrecked  in  the  autumn  of  1889,  and  then 
we  enter  the  English  Narrows,  one  of  the  prettiest  parts  of  the  chan- 
nel. Here  the  passage  is  scarcely  a quarter  of  a mile  wide,  and  the 
ship  threads  its  tortuous  way  through  a maze  of  innumerable  small 
islands,  all  covered  with  a most  luxuriant  growth  of  trees,  plants, 


SMYTH'S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


241 


flowers,  and  ferns.  We  seem  to  be  passing  through  a series  of  small 
lakes,  and  every  moment  one  wonders  how  the  ship  will  find  its  way 
out  of  the  hills,  islands,  and  trees  that  seem  to  form  an  impenetrable 
barrier  on  the  horizon.  The  English  Narrows  are  certainly  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  landscapes  in  the  world,  and  no  words  can  convey 
an  adequate  impression  of  this  charming  and  lifeless  solitude.  Final- 
ly we  wind  out  of  the  Narrows,  and  towards  sunset,  at  five  o’clock — 
the  days  being  very  short  in  these  extreme  southern  latitudes — we  ap- 
proach Eden  Harbor,  latitude  49"  9'  south,  sweep  round  the  wreck  of 
the  Hamburg  Pacific  ship  Hcrmia , which  was  lost  in  1888,  and  re- 
mains with  its  stern,  masts,  and  funnel  above-water,  and  anchor  a few 
hundred  yards  ahead  of  this  gloomy  monument  of  maritime  disaster. 
Near  Eden  Harbor,  in  the  trees,  we  see  some  smoke,  which  indicates 
the  camp  of  some  nomad  Indians,  who  paddle  out  to  the  ship’s  side 
after  dinner,  and  exchange  some  otter-skins  for  knives,  matches,  and 
biscuit.  The  next  morning,  in  piercingly  cold  weather,  we  left  Eden 
Harbor  at  six  o’clock.  The  night  had  been  very  cold;  some  snow 
had  fallen  ; all  the  hill-tops  were  covered,  and  the  sharp  edges  of  the 
black  rocks  alone  appeared  in  relief,  forming  a net-work  of  intricate 
design  over  the  white  ground.  The  contrast  of  the  black  rocks  and 
the  white  snow  is  now  the  chief  feature  in  the  rugged  landscape,  the 
more  so  as  trees  are  becoming  rarer,  and  no  longer  cover  more  than 
the  lower  rocks  along  the  water’s  edge. 

We  then  deviated  a little  from  the  direct  course,  and  passed 
through  Grappler  Reach,  in  order  to  lay  in  a stock  of  ice.  We  halted 
in  a cove  opposite  Averell  Point,  where  there  was  much  drift  ice  float- 
ing in  large  and  small  masses;  a boat  was  lowered,  and  some  of  the 
finest  pieces  were  captured,  enchained,  and  hoisted  on  board  amid  the 
cheers  of  the  passengers,  who  watched  with  delight  the  safe  shipping 
and  the  breaking  up  of  the  huge  glittering  crystal  blocks  with  crow- 
bars. Two  large  whales  also  paid  a visit  to  us,  and  blew  columns  of 
spray  high  into  the  air  for  their  own  relief  and  for  our  amusement. 
Then  we  steamed  on  again  carefully  through  much  drift  ice,  which 
slips  down  the  mountain-sides  from  the  numerous  glaciers,  and  re- 
mains floating  in  great  abundance  in  this  part  of  the  channel.  At 
Penguin  Inlet  we  remarked  a large  glacier.  At  the  entrance  of  Bras- 
sey  Channel  we  all  admired  the  marvellous  scenery  of  range  after  range 
of  mountains,  rising  2000  and  3000  feet  on  each  side  of  the  water-way, 
one  behind  the  other,  like  stage  scenery.  Between  two  and  three  in 

16 


242 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


SHIPPING  ICE  IN  GRAPPLER  REACH. 


the  afternoon  we  passed  the  entrance  of  Trinidad  Channel;  the  sun 
was  shining  brightly ; masses  of  silvery  clouds  hung  over  the  horizon ; 
the  snow  glistened  on  the  distant  ridges,  and  deep  shadows  hovered 
over  the  bold  mountains  in  the  middle  distance.  Our  excellent  cap- 
tain, when  his  duties  did  not  call  him  to  the  bridge,  was  busy  washing 
in  clever  water-color  sketches  of  clouds,  mountains,  and  water,  and  our 
amateur  photographers  were  sadly  distracted  by  the  innumerable 
points  of  view  that  presented  themselves  in  uninterrupted  succession 
as  the  Osiris  steamed  along.  Soon  we  reach  Molyneux  Sound,  lati- 
tude 50°  16'  south,  the  ship  swings  round,  we  steer  up  the  inlet, 


SMYTH’S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


243 


guided  by  two  buoys,  and  at  half-past  three  we  anchor,  at  a distance 
of  some  five  hundred  metres  from  land,  in  a magnificent  harbor,  with 
green  hills  and  islands  all  around  us,  and  in  the  distance,  towards  the 
main  channel,  a range  of  snow-capped  hills,  on  one  of  whose  ridges  a 
conspicuous  rock  suggests  the  form  of  the  Egyptian  Sphinx  head. 

Our  being  obliged  to  anchor  at  this  early  hour  gave  us  an  oppor- 
tunity of  going  ashore.  Boats  are  lowered,  guns  and  cartridges  pro- 
duced, and  we  form  parties  to  go  fowling,  sketching,  and  botanizing. 
The  captain  and  myself  land  at  the  foot  of  a pointed  hill.  The 
water,  of  crystalline  purity,  reveals  gigantic  sea-weeds  floating  in  its 
depths,  and  at  the  bottom  a bed  of  black  and  white  stones  and  bowl- 
ders unworn  by  restless  flux  and  reflux.  On  the  surface,  too,  are 
large  crimped  leaves  of  amber-colored  weed.  We  land  without  diffi- 
culty on  some  smooth  black  rocks  speckled  and  striped  with  white. 
Rock  of  this  description  is  visible  all  along  the  water’s  edge,  rising  to 
a height  of  two  or  three  feet,  at  which  point  the  vegetation  begins, 
and  climbs  up  the  hill  to  varying  heights.  Such  is  the  nature  of  all 
the  islands  in  Smyth’s  Channel — masses  of  rock  rising  out  of  the 
water,  covered  with  vegetation  of  trees,  moss,  and  lichen,  the  rock  in 
contact  with  the  water  being  generally  coated  with  long  mussels, 
which  form  the  only  food  on  which  the  nomad  Indians  can  count. 
The  variety  of  plants  is  considerable,  forming,  with  the  trees,  an  im- 
penetrable mass  of  vegetation.  The  ground  drips  and  oozes  with 
moisture,  and  at  every  step  your  feet  sink  in  an  alarming  manner,  not 
into  soil,  of  which  there  is  little,  but  into  a soft  carpet  of  moss,  leaves, 
rotten  wood,  and  decaying  vegetable  matter.  A score  of  different 
kinds  of  moss  may  be  picked  within  a square  yard,  many  of  them 
being  very  fleshy,  and  the  most  strange  and  beautiful — the  pale  sage- 
green  coral  moss,  and  the  white,  fibrous  ice  moss  that  looks  like  sil- 
very swan’s-down.  Of  the  ferns,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  is  a hard, 
five-leafed,  palm-like  fern,  with  a glossy-black  stem.  The  trees,  even  to 
their  topmost  branches,  so  abundant  is  the  moisture,  are  infested  with 
a luxuriant  parasitic  growth  of  moss  and  lichens.  The  undergrowth 
is  composed  of  low-growing  shrubs  with  hard  varnished  leaves,  varie- 
ties of  myrtle,  a small-leaved  berry-bearing  plant  called  chaura , a plant 
with  a pale-green  prickly  leaf  like  holly  and  a delicate  carmine  bell 
flower  tipped  with  white,  and  a beautiful  plant  of  the  azalea  family, 
with  an  exquisite  rose-colored  bell  flower  with  golden  petals.  In  this 
virgin  paradise  the  only  living  things  to  be  seen  are  otters,  colibris, 


2+4 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


white  geese,  black  ducks,  and  gulls.  Occasionally  a huge  albatross 
swoops  overhead,  and  in  some  of  the  creeks  are  penguins  and  seals. 

The  evening  in  Molyneux 
Sound  left  in  our  minds  de- 
lightful memories.  The  sun  set 
in  golden  splendor  in  the  wind- 
swept sky,  the  stars  shone  forth, 
and  the  moon  rose  in  the  heav- 
ens, shedding  a long  train  of 
shimmering  light  over  the  water, 
whose  mirror-like  surface  reflect- 


MOLYNEUX  SOUND. 

ed  in  deep  black  shadows  the  surrounding  islands  and  hills  and  the 
light  cloud  forms  that  hung  above  among  the  stars,  each  of  which  had 
its  golden  counterpart  in  the  still  water.  Happily  the  icy  south  wind 
that  blew  so  sharply  in  the  afternoon  did  not  reach  us  in  this  sheltered 
anchorage ; but  still  the  night  was  bitterly  cold. 

The  next  morning  we  started  at  three  o'clock,  and  passed  through 
the  fine  scenery  of  the  Guia  Narrows,  the  grand  landscape  of  the  Vic- 
tory Pass  and  of  the  Sarmiento  Channel,  with  its  imposing  peaks,  be- 
hind which  rises  the  towering  snowy  Cordillera  of  the  main  continent. 


SMYTH’S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


245 


The  transparency  of  the  atmosphere  was  extreme,  and  at  a great  dis- 
tance we  could  see  every  wrinkle  and  vein  in  the  snow  fields,  and 
every  thread-like  rivulet  that  fissured  the  rocks  and  precipices.  At 
6.30  we  anchored  off  Long  Island — latitude  520  20'  south — in  a broad 
smooth  bay,  and  after  dinner  we  organized  a raffle  and  a concert,  in 
which  we  were  aided  by  the  crew’s  “ drum,  gong,  and  discord  band,” 
proudly  entitled  the  “ Bremer  Stadtmusikanten,”  and  composed  of  an 
accordion,  a comb,  two  saucepan  lids  for  cymbals,  a tin  bath  for  a 
drum,  and  a wooden  tub,  which,  when  skilfully  scraped  with  a broom 
handle  by  an  able-bodied  seaman,  gave  forth  sounds  resembling  those 
of  the  bass-viol.  After  this,  two  of  the  sailors,  quaintly  disguised  with 
blankets,  visited  us  in  the  role  of  the  “ Familie  Lehmann.”  This  com- 
mon German  name,  the  equivalent  of  the  English  Smith  and  Jones, 
has  been  given  by  the  German  sailors  to  the  nomad  Indians  of 
Smyth’s  Channel.  Every  Indian  man  is  Herr  Lehmann,  and  his  wife, 
Frau  Lehmann.  Curiously  enough,  while  we  were  laughing  at  the 
strange  antics  and  gibberish  of  our  two  sailors,  the  cry  was  heard  from 
the  stern,  “ Eine  echte  Familie  Lehmann  ” (a  genuine  Lehmann  family 
is  coming).  We  all  hurried  to  the  lower  deck,  and  there  alongside  on 
the  port  side  was  a long  bark  canoe,  with  two  men,  three  women,  and 
four  small  babies  on  board.  The  canoe  was  double-ended,  and  had  a 
keel,  ribs,  and  cross-ties  of  wood,  over  which  were  stretched  sheets  of 
bark,  the  whole  bound  together  with  leather  thongs  and  grass  ropes, 
and  calked  with  clay.  In  the  middle  of  the  canoe,  on  a basis  of  clay, 
a fire  of  twigs  and  branches  was  burning.  At  one  end  were  two 
savage-looking  men,  with  brown  skins  not  unlike  those  of  the  more 
swarthy  Chilian  C/iolos , long  black  straight  hair,  and  no  clothes  except 
an  old  blanket  over  their  shoulders.  On  the  other  side  of  the  fire 
were  an  aged  woman,  whose  occupation  it  was  to  perpetually  bale  out 
the  boat  with  an  old  coffee-pot,  and  to  keep  the  fire  supplied  with 
wood,  and  two  younger  women,  each  with  a child  slung  on  her  back 
and  another  huddled  at  her  feet.  These  women,  like  the  men,  had 
only  a summery  blanket  thrown  over  their  shoulders,  and  each  worked 
a paddle.  The  two  younger  women  .were  finely  formed,  and  in  all  the 
bloom  of  their  firm  youthful  flesh.  Their  round  and  broad  faces  were 
regular  in  feature,  their  teeth  dazzlingly  white,  and  their  eyes  brilliant 
and  large.  Indeed,  they  were  quite  beauties  in  their  way,  and  their 
laughing  faces  were  pleasant  to  contemplate  as  they  looked  up  at  us 
through  the  aureole  of  long  black  hair  straggling  over  their  foreheads 


246 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  hanging  over  their  shoulders.  A rope  was  thrown  to  the  canoe, 
and  one  of  the  men  held  it,  while  the  other  and  the  women  kept  their 
craft  clear  with  paddles  and  poles.  Since  some  of  them  were  kidnap- 
ped a few  years  ago,  and  carried  off  to  Europe,  where  they  were  exhib- 
ited at  raree-shows,  these  Indians  can  with  difficulty  be  induced  to 
come  on  board  the  ships.  They  feel  distrustful,  and  keep  their  canoes 
at  a safe  distance,  ready  to  push  off  at  a moment’s  notice  and  at  the 
slightest  alarm.  The  bulwarks  of  our  ship  were  by  this  time  lined 
with  passengers  and  crew  leaning  over  and  craning  their  heads  to  see 
the  Lehmanns,  who  were  crouching  below  in  their  unsteady  canoe, 
with  their  savage  or  laughing  faces  upturned,  and  lighted  by  the  inter- 
mittent glare  of  the  fire,  and  by  the  dim  flame  of  a ship’s  lantern. 
Meanwhile  one  of  the  sailors,  holding  on  with  one  hand  to  a rope,  and 
clinging  with  his  feet  monkey-like  to  a slight  ledge  on  the  ship’s  side, 
used  his  free  hand  to  pass  things  from  the  ship  to  the  canoe  and  vice 
versa.  Then  began  conversation  and  trading,  both  of  a very  primitive 
nature. 

“Good-evening,  Frau  Lehmann.  How  do  you  do?”  cried  a voice 
from  the  ship. 

“ Frau  Lehman,  si,”  replied  the  Indian  ladies,  throwing  their  heads 
back  and  laughing  like  coy  children.  “Frau  Lehmann,  si,  si,  gallctas. 
galletas  (tobacco,  tobacco).” 

In  reply  to  this  demand  for  biscuit  and  tobacco,  voices  from  the 
ship  cried  “ Skins,  skins.” 

And  then  from  the  canoe  rose  many  unintelligible  sounds,  termi- 
nating with  the  few  English  and  Spanish  words  which  the  Indians 
have  learned  from  passing  ships:  cachimba  (tobacco  pipe);  ctichillo 
(knife),  the  English  equivalent  “ knifey,”  “ tobacco,  tobacco,”  and  gal- 
letas, galletas.  Knives,  biscuit,  and  tobacco  are  the  articles  which 
these  Indians  desire  most  ardently,  and  in  exchange  they  offer  bone 
spear -heads,  lassos,  bows  and  arrows,  grass  baskets,  and  sometimes 
otter -skins.  We  made  a few  trifling  exchanges;  gave  them  a sack 
of  broken  biscuit,  some  cigars,  some  old  clothes,  and  a few  colored 
handkerchiefs;  and  then  they  paddled  away  in  the  rain  and  gloom, 
after  repeating  our  farewell  of“Adios”and  “So  long,”  and  sing- 
ing a soft  nasal  lullaby.  This  visit  of  the  Indians,  in  the  midst  of 
these  vast  mountain  and  island  solitudes,  was  picturesque  and  impres- 
sive. The  moon  had  gone  down,  rain  was  falling,  and  the  drops  ruffled 
with  innumerable  small  eddies  the  glassy  black  wavelets  that  made 


INDIANS  VISITING  THE  SHIP  AT  NIGHT. 


SMYTH’S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


249 


the  frail  bark  canoe  roll  and  lurch  ; the  fitful  glare  of  the  fire  now  re- 
vealed the  faces  of  the  Indians,  with  their  white  teeth  and  shining 
eyes,  and  now  left  the  boat  and  its  occupants  in  shadowy  mystery; 
our  seaman  clinging  to  the  black  ship’s  side  formed  a fantastic  silhou- 
ette against  the  murky  background  of  the  night ; and  the  row  of  heads 
leaning  over  the  rail,  and  all  looking  down,  must  have  presented  to 
the  Indians  odd  effects  of  foreshortening,  which,  we  may  be  sure,  they 
failed  to  appreciate.  The  Indians  seen  in  Smyth’s  Channel  consist  of 
a few  nomad  families,  who  live  two  or  three  together,  and  own  a canoe 
and  a tent  composed  of  a few  poles  covered  with  skins.  Their  only 
arms  are  bows  and  arrows ; their  chief  food,  mussels ; and  their  scanty 
clothing,  such  old  rags  and  blankets  as  the  charity  of  passing  ships 
provides.  They  are,  I suppose,  the  poorest  and  most  miserable  speci- 
mens of  humanity  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  their  existence  in 
the  cold  rainy  islands  of  this  inhospitable  end  of  the  world  is  more 
wretched  by  far  than  that  of  the  least -favored  residents  of  the  north- 
ern arctic  regions. 

At  five  o’clock  the  following  morning,  April  28th,  we  started  from 
Long  Island,  and  after  three  hours’  steaming  we  reached  the  end  of 
Smyth’s  Channel,  left  the  ocean  and  the  bold  and  curious  headland  of 
Cape  Pillar  to  our  right,  and  entered  the  Strait  of  Magellan.  The 
character  of  the  landscape  now  changed  entirely.  The  green  islands 
and  tree-clad  hills  gave  place  to  brown,  rugged,  and  barren  rocks,  be- 
hind which  rose  high  peaks  covered  with  snow.  Cape  Pillar,  latitude 
520  42'  south,  longitude  74  43'  west,  is  310  feet  high;  the  peaks  on 
our  left  hand  are  over  three  thousand  feet ; the  peaks  on  our  right,  on 
Desolation  Island,  are  equally  high ; while  on  Santa  Ines  Island,  the 
loftiest  summit,  Mount  Wharton,  rises  to  a height  of  4350  feet.  In 
our  passage  through  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  generally  obscured  by 
rain  and  mist,  we  were  favored  with  exceptionally  fine  weather.  In  the 
afternoon,  as  we  passed  Glacier  Bay,  we  had  a splendid  view  of  a daz- 
zling bluish-green  ice  field  embedded  between  craggy  and  barren  hills, 
with  a little  vegetation  along  the  water’s  edge  alone,  and  surrounded 
by  towering  snow-clad  mountains  from  3000  to  4000  feet  high.  On 
the  opposite  shore  we  admired  a still  vaster  glacier  which  had  recently 
begun  to  slide,  and  remained  a terrific  wilderness  of  jagged  and  cha- 
otic blocks.  In  this  region  of  wild  mountains,  snow  fields,  and  glaciers, 
we  witnessed  a marvellous  sunset.  The  sky  overhead  was  clear  blue  ; 
on  the  eastern  horizon  a few  light  clouds ; on  the  western  horizon  very 


250 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


heavy  clouds,  with  a central  brazier  of  molten  gold,  in  front  of  which 
the  mountains  stand  out  in  successive  planes,  the  nearer  ones  of  deep 
indigo  hue,  the  more  distant  ones  bathed  in  an  almost  transparent 
haze  of  bluish-rose,  passing  into  the  rich  tones  oi  gorge  de  pigeon.  As 
the  sun  sinks,  the  golden  light  vanishes,  the  heavy  clouds  become  vel- 
vety-black, with  an  under  fringe  of  bright  ruby-red,  while  a ruby  glow 
suffuses  the  opposite  eastern  sky,  tips  with  rose  the  distant  snow 


CAPE  PILLAR. 

peaks,  and  casts  ruddy  reflections  over  the  glassy  mirror  of  the  calm 
water.  The  same  evening,  by  moonlight,  we  passed  the  black  and 
barren  silhouette  of  Cape  Froward,  latitude  530  55'  south,  longitude 
71  19'  west,  the  southernmost  point  of  all  the  continents  of  the  world, 
and  the  extreme  end  of  the  great  mountain  range  of  the  Andes.  Cape 
Froward  itself  measures  only  1200  feet,  but  the  summit  of  Mount  Vic- 
toria, immediately  behind  it,  rises  to  2900  feet,  which  figure  may  be 
taken  as  the  average  of  the  higher  summits  seen  in  the  Strait  of  Ma- 
gellan  in  the  grand  stretch  of  mountain  and  water  scenerv  between 
Cape  Pillar  and  Cape  Froward.  The  Strait  of  Magellan  from  Cape 
Pillar,  latitude  520  43'  south,  longitude  74°  41'  west,  to  Cape  Virgins, 
latitude  52  20'  south,  longitude  68  20'  west,  measures  317  miles;  in 
the  narrowest  part  the  width  is  two  miles,  and  in  the  broadest  reaches 
from  ten  to  seventeen  miles. 


SMYTH’S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN.  25 1 

From  Cape  Froward  onward  to  Punta  Arenas  the  coast  rocks  and 
the  mountain  peaks  diminish  in  grandeur,  the  highest  nowhere  ex- 
ceeding 2000  feet,  and  most  of  them  being  much  lower.  We  reached 
Punta  Arenas  in  the  night,  anchored,  and  slept  happily  until  daybreak, 
when  we  blew  the  steam-whistle  to  warn  the  inhabitants  of  our  pres- 
ence. At  length  the  captain  of  the  port  came  on  board,  and  we  were 
at  liberty  to  go  ashore ; but  the  landing  was  difficult  and  dangerous : 
owing  to  the  roughness  of  the  water  and  the  primitiveness  of  the 
moles,  we  had  to  be  hoisted  out  of  the  ship’s  boat  with  ropes.  The 
town  does  not  offer  much  to  interest  the  visitor.  In  the  bay  are  two 
coal  hulks,  an  American  schooner  at  anchor,  several  small  coasting 
schooners  used  for  seal-fishing  and  local  service,  and  a Chilian  survey 
steamer.  To  the  north  of  the  town  is  a government  depot,  with  half  a 
dozen  buoys  lying  on  the  sandy  shore,  and  looking  from  a distance 
like  gigantic  spinning  tops.  Still  farther  to  the  north  is  an  old  light- 
house tower,  painted  red  and  white,  which  was  used  by  the  German 
astronomical  mission  at  the  time  of  the  last  passage  of  Venus.  Be- 
yond the  light-house  the  land  becomes  flat,  and  stretches  out  into  the 


GLACIER,  LATITUDE  530  2l'  SOUTH,  LONGITUDE  720  55' WEST. 


252 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


water,  forming  a long  sandy  spit,  with  a conical  beacon  on  the  extreme 
point.  Hence  the  name  of  the  settlement — Sandy  Point.  The  town 
is  of  very  recent  origin,  but  it  has  grown  rapidly,  and  now  has  a popu- 
lation of  922  souls,  the  whole  Territorio  de  Magellanes  having  a popu- 
lation of  2085,  of  whom  about  eight  hundred  are  foreigners  of  various 
nationalities,  the  chief  capitalists  and  business  people  being  German 
or  English.  The  houses  are  solidly  built  of  wood,  the  best  of  them 
having  corrugated  iron  roofs.  Most  of  the  buildings  are  painted 
white ; some  have  walls  and  roofs  of  the  same  deep  red  color ; the 
roofs  are,  of  course,  sharply  pointed  to  throw  off  the  rain.  The  gen- 
eral aspect  of  things  there  is  new  and  prosperous.  The  principal 
business  houses  are  German.  Punta  Arenas  is  a free  port,  and  the 
great  centre  for  supplying  the  sheep  farms  and  various  settlements  on 
the  opposite  islands  of  the  Tierra  del  Fuego  group,  southern  Patago- 
nia, and  the  Falkland  Islands.  In  these  rainy  and  apparently  inhos- 
pitable regions  the  great  industry  is  sheep- farming.  There  is  also 
much  gold-dust  in  the  rivers  and  torrents,  and  silver  and  coal  mines 


SMYTH'S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


253 


in  the  neighborhood,  but  hitherto  they  have  not  been  worked  with 
success.  It  is  curious  to  note  that  the  shepherds  who  come  to  Punta 
Arenas  to  buy  goods  and  provisions  often  pay  in  gold-dust,  which  they 
gather  in  the  streams  near  which  their  flocks  are  feeding.  Skins  and 
furs  form  a second  important  industry ; seal  and  sea-otters  abound  in 
the  various  channels  between  the  islands  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  and  of 
the  Strait  of  Magellan,  and  three  times  a year  the  Patagonian  Indians 
ride  into  Punta  Arenas  to  sell  the  produce  of  their  hunting  excursions, 

■ ..  \ 


PUNTA  ARENAS. 


namely,  puma,  ostrich,  guanaco,  and  silver-fox  skins.  The  exportation 
of  furs  is  an  important  business  here,  and  the  port,  standing  as  it  does 
in  the  regular  steamer  track,  is  destined  to  greater  and  greater  pros- 
perity. When  we  returned  on  board  we  found  two  Danish  fur  dealers 
displaying  their  stock  of  merchandise,  and  endeavoring  to  do  business 
with  the  passengers.  The  skins  were  spread  out  over  the  hatches  on 
the  aft  deck — ostrich,  guanaco,  seal,  otter,  puma,  fox — looking  soft  and 
warm,  and  interspersed  with  a few  Indian  curiosities,  such  as  bows, 
arrows,  spears,  lassos,  shell-work,  spurs,  models  of  bark  canoes,  and  the 
terrible  bolas , which  the  Patagonians  and  their  pupils,  the  Argentine 
gauchos,  use  to  hunt  the  ostrich.  The  Osiris  landed  our  mail-bag 
and  a dozen  sacks  of  potatoes,  took  on  board  a quantity  of  ostrich 
feathers  to  be  delivered  in  Havre,  and  then  proceeded  on  her  way. 


254 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


At  breakfast  that  morning  we  noted  with  pleasure  that  pig’s  flesh 
did  not  appear  in  the  menu ; the  wretched  animal  slaughtered  at  the 
entrance  of  Smyth’s  Channel  had  been  obtruding  his  memory  upon 
us  in  various  forms  twice  a day  regularly  since  its  decease,  and  the 
previous  evening  it  had  appeared  in  the  euphonious  form  of  “Schnaut- 
zen  und  Pautzen.”  Happily  this  was  the  end  of  the  beast,  whose  place 
was  henceforward  taken  by  good  beef  and  Tierra  del  Fuego  mutton, 
shipped  at  Punta  Arenas.  So  we  went  steaming  on  through  cold  and 
scudding  rain  clouds,  in  choppy  and  snarling  water,  between  the  low 
coast  hills  of  Patagonia  and  Tierra  del  Fuego.  As  we  pass  Elizabeth 
Island,  about  twenty  miles  from  Punta  Arenas,  we  catch  a glimpse  of 
Sarmiento  Mountain,  distant  ninety-six  miles,  in  the  southern  part  of 
Tierra  del  Fuego.  On  reference  to  the  chart,  we  find  that  this  mount- 
ain, covered  with  perpetual  snow,  7330  feet  high,  is  the  highest  point 
of  Tierra  del  Fuesro.  In  the  same  southern  section  of  the  island  is 
Mount  Darwin,  7000  feet  high,  and  many  other  rugged,  snow-clad 


MOUNT  SARMIENTO,  HIGHEST  POINT  OF  TIERRA  DEL  FUEGO. 

peaks  and  glaciers,  from  3000  to  4000  feet.  All  this  part  of  the  world 
is  terribly  inhospitable  and  dangerous,  and  the  English  Admiralty 
Chart  is  full  of  ominous  notes  and  warnings.  At  Ushuwaia,  in  the 
Beagle  Channel,  latitude  54  49'  south,  longitude  68  18'  west,  says  the 
chart,  is  an  English  mission  station,  “which  may  be  used  as  a place  of 


FUR  DEALERS  ON  HOARD  AT  PUNTA  ARENAS. 


SMYTH’S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


25  7 


refuge  for  shipwrecked  mariners.”  The  same  chart  gives  directions 
and  advice  in  case  of  disaster,  which  makes  one  feel  the  horror  of 
these  waters,  and  adds,  “A  great  change  has  been  effected  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  natives  generally,  and  the  Yaghan  natives  from  Cape  San 
Diego  to  Cape  Horn,  and  thence  round  to  Brecknock  Peninsula,  may 
be  trusted.”  The  Yaghan,  or  Fuegian,  Indians  are  the  same  as  we 
saw  in  Eden  Harbor  and  Molyneux  Sound.  They  are  by  no  means 


FUEGIANS. 


numerous,  and  all  more  or  less  savage,  more  or  less  miserable,  and 
very  few,  I am  told,  as  good-looking  as  the  family  that  visited  us  in 
Molyneux  Sound.  They  are  all  nomad,  and  wander  from  island  to 
island  in  the  Tierra  del  Fuego  group,  the  Strait  of  Magellan,  Smyth’s 
Channel,  the  western  coast  of  the  continent,  and  the  islands  of  the 
archipelagoes  of  Chonos  and  Guaianeco.  Indians  of  the  same  race 
are  also  found  in  the  Chilian  province  of  Chiloe,  but  their  physical 
aspect  in  those  parts  is  much  better,  and  their  way  of  living  much  less 
rude  than  that  of  their  southern  brothers. 

That  evening  we  anchored  off  Santa  Marta  Island,  nocturnal  navi- 
gation in  the  Strait  of  Magellan  being  impossible,  owing  to  the  ab- 
sence of  light-houses  and  the  intricacy  of  the  course.  The  next 
morning,  April  30th,  we  continued  our  journey,  with  a stiff  head 
breeze,  through  light-green  water,  the  land  on  either  side  being  low. 

1 7 


25§ 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


At  Punta  Delgada  we  note  Wood’s  Settlement,  an  important  sheep 
farm  belonging  to  an  Englishman.  The  runs,  I was  told,  support 
more  than  eighty  thousand  sheep.  Once  a year  a steamer  from  Lon- 
don brings  provisions  for  the  colony,  and  takes  the  wool  back  to 
England.  But  what  a forlorn  and  desolate  place  to  spend  one’s 
life  in ! 

The  time  now  began  to  hang  heavily  on  board  the  Osiris.  The 
fine  scenery  was  left  behind,  and  in  the  afternoon  we  passed  Dunge- 
ness  Beacon,  crossed  the  Sarmiento  Bank,  and  so  out  into  the  Atlan- 
tic, leaving  Cape  Virgin  to  our  left,  and  after  five  days’  navigation 
over  very  high  and  rough  sea,  with  steam  and  sail  and  a strong  north- 
west wind  to  aid  us,  we  reached  Montevideo  on  the  morning  of  May 
6th.  The  Osiris  is  a good  stout  ship,  but  not  a rapid  one.  Neverthe- 
less I thoroughly  enjoyed  the  five 
weeks  I spent  on  board,  and  it 
was  not  without  regret  that  I said 
good-by  to  Captain  Carlsen  and 
all  his  warm-hearted  and  amiable 
passengers,  and  went  ashore  to 
continue  my  wanderings  in  the 
region  of  the  great  plains,  the 
inmensas  llanuras  of  the  basin 
of  La  Plata.  The  voyage  was 
long — the  course  followed  meas- 
ured more  than  four  thousand  sea 
miles  — but  it  would  be  difficult 
to  find  elsewhere  a stretch  of 
coast  offering  such  variety  of 
physical  and  ethnographical  feat- 
ures. I had  started  from  the 
tropical  harbor  of  Callao,  from 
the  latitude  of  the  coffee  and  co- 
coa plant,  and  skirted  the  strange 
rainless  regions  of  northern  Chili, 
with  their  unparalleled  wealth 
of  salts  and  minerals  that  make 
these  barren  deserts  and  arid 
mountain  wastes  a veritable  chemical  laboratory.  From  Caldera 
southward  to  V alparaiso  I had  seen  the  mixed  zone  abounding  in 


PATAGONIAN  INDIAN  WOMAN. 


SMYTH’S  CHANNEL  AND  THE  STRAIT  OF  MAGELLAN. 


259 


minerals,  but  at  the  same  time  fertile  and  adapted  for  agriculture. 
Then  followed  the  purely  agricultural  zone  of  Chili,  with  its  mild  and 
delightful  climate ; the  coal  fields  of  the  littoral  of  the  provinces  of 
Arauco  and  Concepcion;  the  rainy  valleys  of  Valdivia,  Llanquihue, 
and  Chiloe,  with  their  rich  soil  and  luxuriant  woods ; and  finally  the 
zone  of  woods  and  fisheries,  which  begins  at  latitude  430  30',  and  ex- 
tends to  latitude  57°  south.  Here  the  great  central  valley,  which  plays 


PATAGONIAN  INDIANS. 


so  important  a role  in  the  topography  of  Chili,  disappears,  and  the 
coast  Cordillera,  whose  mountain  ranges  have  accompanied  us  all 
down  the  littoral  from  Peru,  becomes  transformed  into  the  archipela- 
goes of  Chiloe,  Guaitecas,  Guaianeco,  Magellanes,  and  Tierra  del  Fu- 
ego — mountainous  islands,  and  for  the  most  part  impenetrable  soli- 
tudes, given  up  to  seals,  otters,  wild  fowl,  and  Indians.  At  Cape 
Froward  the  main  Cordillera  de  los  Andes  crosses  our  route,  and 
becomes  transformed  into  the  highlands  and  valleys  of  Tierra  del 
Fuego,  parts  of  which  are  destined  to  become  a great  cattle  country. 
Then  the  region  of  rugged  rocks  and  snowy  peaks  ceases,  and  be- 
tween Punta  Arenas  and  Cape  Virgin  we  see  the  southern  end  of 
those  steppes  and  pampas  which  stretch  away  northward  up  to  the 
primeval  forests  of  Brazil,  and  constitute  the  great  natural  advantage 


26o 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  agricultural  wealth  of  the  Atlantic  water-shed  of  the  Andean 
chain,  and  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  Paraguay,  and  Uruguay.  The 
rapid  panorama  of  the  physical  features  of  the  coast  was  accompanied 
by  a scarcely  less  interesting  glimpse  of  men  and  manners.  In  indo- 
lent and  tropical  Peru  the  best  workers  are  negroes  and  Chinese ; in 
the  mineral  zones  the  Bolivian  and  Chilian  Cholos  are  unrivalled  in 
endurance  and  special  skill;  in  Valparaiso  we  find  Englishmen  and 
Germans  controlling  the  commerce  of  the  country,  and  organizing  ex- 
portation and  importation ; in  the  lower  and  more  rainy  province 
of  Valdivia  we  might  almost  imagine  ourselves  in  rural  Germany; 
through  the  island  solitudes,  with  their  forests  and  glaciers,  the  most 
miserable  of  wild  Indians  alone  eke  out  a scanty  and  arduous  exist- 
ence ; and  then,  on  the  east  side  of  the  Andes,  we  once  more  find  An- 
glo-Saxon energy  settling  and  transforming  the  land,  and  creating 
wealth  and  civilization. 


CHAPTER  X. 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 

IT  is  doubtful  whether  verbal  description  can  ever  be  vivid  enough 
to  evoke  in  the  reader’s  mind  any  adequate  image  of  the  corre- 
sponding reality,  especially  when  that  reality  is  not  an  isolated  object 
or  person,  but  the  prodigious  agglomeration  of  objects  and  persons 
that  constitutes  a great  city.  The  painter  and  the  draughtsman 
alone  can  compose  panoramas  and  detailed  pictures  that  portray  the 
general  material  aspect  and  peculiar  life  of  the  dwelling-places  of  mul- 
titudes. The  writer,  on  the  other  hand,  must  content  himself  with 
the  record  of  observations  he  has  made  and  impressions  that  he  has 
received,  unless  he  confine  himself  to  the  arid  field  of  statistical  and 
scientific  demography.  Admirable  as  may  be  the  results  of  the  latter 
pursuit,  they  have  the  disadvantage  of  being  ineloquent  except  to 
specialists,  and  also  of  being  misleading,  thanks  to  their  very  abstract 
quality. 

Thousands  of  pages  of  figures  and  many  excellent  statistical 
works  have  been  compiled  on  the  subject  of  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
but  none  of  them  convey  clear  ideas  as  to  the  aspect  and  movement 
of  the  streets,  the  looks  of  the  houses  and  the  people,  or  the  way  the 
inhabitants  live,  suffer,  or  enjoy.  In  the  following  pages  I propose  to 
be  unscientific.  I will  even  ask  the  reader’s  permission  to  be  familiar, 
and  to  devote  some  space  to  matters  which  may  seem  trivial.  Life, 
however,  is  largely  made  up  of  trivialities.  Furthermore,  let  it  be  un- 
derstood that  in  whatever  I may  say  about  the  Argentines  there  is  no 
desire  to  disparage  wilfully  or  to  criticise  in  a carping  spirit.  It  is 
always  easier  to  find  faults  than  qualities,  to  blame  than  to  praise,  to 
be  amusing  and  caustic  rather  than  just  and  appreciative.  I write  in 
good  faith,  unbiassed  by  prejudices  or  sympathies,  and  with  no  other 
ideal  and  standard  than  the  results  and  experience  of  the  highest  civ- 
ilization of  the  past  and  of  the  present. 

The  Argentines  have  pretensions  to  civilization  and  refinement ; 
they  boast  of  their  capital,  of  its  rapid  progress,  of  the  convenience 


262 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  luxury  of  life  at  Buenos  Ayres.  This  pride  and  self-congratula- 
tion is  largely  justified,  but  nevertheless  the  reality  falls  far  below  the 
descriptions  that  are  current.  The  visitor’s  first  experience  of  the 
hotels  is  his  first  disappointment.  With  the  exception  of  the  Grand 
Hotel,  which  would  rank  with  third  and  even  fourth  class  houses  in 
Europe,  all  the  thirty  to  forty  hotels  of  Buenos  Ayres  occupy  inade- 
quate buildings,  and  they  are  badly  furnished,  badly  managed,  and 
altogether  wretched,  dirty,  and  comfortless.  Nevertheless,  the  propri- 
etors make  good  profits.  They  charge  from  two  and  a half  to  twelve 
gold  dollars  a day  for  each  person,  and  their  houses  are  always  full. 
In  the  course  of  various  visits  I made  a point  of  trying  the  most  not- 
able houses,  and  in  all  of  them  I found  the  same  defects ; poor  and 
dirty  rooms,  slovenly  service,  nauseating  food,  sanitary  apparatus  of  a 
filthiness  that  no  words  can  convey.  For  men,  part  of  the  horror  of 
the  ordinary  hotels  can  be  escaped  by  having  recourse  to  the  large 
modern  casas  amuebladas,  like  the  Deux  Mondes,  Internacional,  Sud 
Americana,  Louvre,  L'Universelle,  which  are  simply  hotels  without 
restaurants.  Meals  can  then  be  taken  in  the  various  eating-houses 
and  restaurants  of  the  business  quarter,  of  which  the  best  are  the 
Cafe  de  Paris,  Mercer,  Sportsman,  Rotisserie  Fran9aise,  and  Crite- 
rion. There  is  also  a good  German  restaurant  called  the  Aue  Keller, 
arranged  in  neo-mediceval  style  like  the  Berlin  Rathhauskeller.  No 
town  in  South  America  has  finer  restaurants  than  Buenos  Ayres, 
and,  so  far  as  concerns  cuisine,  the  Cafe  de  Paris  may  be  compared 
with  the  Parisian  restaurants  of  the  third  category.  These  restau- 
rants, however,  are  mainly  frequented  by  foreigners,  and  almost  ex- 
clusively by  men.  It  is  a rare  thing  to  see  a lady  dining  in  a restau- 
rant, and  if  you  do  see  one,  you  may  be  sure  that  she  is  a foreigner. 
The  Argentines  go  to  the  hotels,  and  either  live  at  the  tablc-d' hote,  or 
more  generally  have  their  meals  served  in  their  rooms,  and  as  you 
go  along  the  passages,  reeking  with  strong  perfumery,  you  catch  a 
glimpse  through  half -opened  doors  of  large  women,  wearing  rich 
clothes  and  sparkling  jewelry,  sucking  mate  and  eating  primitive  food, 
very  much  after  the  manner  of  the  Indians  of  the  Gran  Chaco.  So 
much  luxury  and  so  little  real  comfort,  such  is  the  remark  that  one  is 
constantly  making  at  Buenos  Ayres,  and  the  only  explanation  of  the 
phenomenon  is  that  the  Argentines  do  not  need  comfort.  Hotels  and 
restaurants  are  good  indicators  of  the  degree  of  refinement  of  a com- 
munity. The  fact  that  the  hotels  of  Buenos  Ayres  are  miserable  and 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


263 


dirty,  the  food  horrible,  and  the  service  execrable,  simply  implies  that 
the  public  neither  criticises  nor  protests,  that  it  wants  nothing  better, 
deserves  nothing  better,  and  gets  what  it  merits. 

Thanks  to  the  opening  of  the  new  Darsena,  the  stranger  who  ar- 
rives at  Buenos  Ayres  is  no  longer  subjected  to  the  torture  of  landing 
in  small  boats  or  even  carts,  and  of  paying  ransom  to  boatmen  and 
porters,  whose  extortions  were  curbed  by  no  tariff.  Now  the  river 
steamers  and  tug-boats  land  passengers  directly  on  the  quay  at  about 
half  an  hour’s  ride  from  the  centre  of  the  town,  and  the  only  ransom 
absolutely  obligatory  is  that  exacted  by  the  coachmen.  The  process 
of  landing  is  rough  still,  and  good  police  regulations  are  needed. 
When  once  within  the  town  proper  the  stranger  is  struck  by  the  nar- 
rowness of  the  streets,  which  are  only  forty  feet  wide,  the  lowness  of 
the  buildings,  many  of  which  have  only  one  story,  the  activity  of  the 
traffic,  the  throng  of  carts  and  wagons,  and  the  incessant  passing  of 
horse-cars,  one  behind  the  other.  The  noise  is  deafening,  and  consists 
of  the  rolling  of  wheels,  the  clattering  of  hoofs  on  the  rough  granite 
pavement,  generally  full  of  holes  and  ruts ; and,  above  all,  the  squeal- 
ing of  the  tram-way  horns.  In  front  of  each  car,  just  within  reach  of' 
the  driver’s  lips,  is  slung  a cow-horn,  upon  which  he  plays  with  inde- 
fatigable virtuosite , eliciting  from  it  piercing  notes  that  suggest  at  once 
the  howling  of  a new-born  babe,  the  shrieks  of  a Punch  and  Judy 
show,  and  the  squalling  of  noctambulant  cats.  From  early  morning 
until  midnight  every  street,  from  one  end  of  the  city  to  the  other,  re- 
echoes with  this  irritating  din.  Most  of  the  street-cars  in  Buenos 
Ayres  are  open  American  vehicles  with  reversible  seats ; they  are  gen- 
erally shabby-looking  from  hard  wear;  the  horses  are  small  native 
beasts  that  never  get  groomed ; they  are  fed  on  green  fodder  and  hay 
alone,  and  smell  most  disagreeably ; the  conductors  are  seedy  fellows 
of  all  nationalities,  without  uniform,  and  the  drivers  belong  to  the  low- 
est category  of  degraded  and  cruel  human  brutes.  The  street  traffic 
of  Buenos  Ayres  is  fertile  in  instances  of  the  most  revolting  cruelty 
to  animals,  and  whether  in  the  cars  or  in  a coach  circulation  is  equally 
disagreeable  and  alarming.  The  pavement  being  very  bad  in  most  of 
the  streets,  the  carriages  shake  you  up  even  more  than  the  cars,  which 
dance  and  jolt  along  the  uneven  rails,  swing  round  curves  with  a 
wrench  and  a crash,  and  from  time  to  time  run  off  the  track.  There 
is  no  limit  to  the  number  of  passengers  in  a car.  “ Hanging  on  by 
a strap”  and  clinging  to  the  foot-board  are  practised  as  in  North 


264 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


America.  The  blocking  of  the  streets  is  frequent,  and  in  the  centre 
you  will  see  twenty  times  a day  a score  of  tram-cars  in  a string,  and  a 
hundred  carts  and  carriages  at  a stand-still,  crowded  in  a confusion 
that  remains  inextricable  for  twenty  minutes  or  half  an  hour.  In  wet 
weather  the  roadway  is  converted  into  a sort  of  marsh ; the  water  re- 
mains in  the  holes  and  ruts  and  along  the  tram  lines ; the  wheels  cut 
through  the  liquid  mud,  splashing  and  bespattering  the  sidewalks  and 
the  shop  windows,  and  the  only  efficacious  protection  is  that  of  big 
boots  and  mackintoshes.  Umbrellas  are  of  no  use,  the  sidewalks  be- 
ing so  narrow  that  two  persons  walking  abreast  occupy  the  whole 
width.  The  streets,  in  short,  are  inadequate  for  the  traffic  of  the  mod- 
ern town. 

Buenos  Ayres  is  laid  out  in  squares,  or  cuadras , of  uniform  dimen- 
sions, in  accordance  with  the  prescriptions  of  the  Leyes  de  Indias, 
dictated  from  the  Escorial  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Each  ctiadra 
measures  142  yards  by  142  yards,  thus  covering  an  extent  of  some 
4b  acres,  and  the  whole  town  covers  a superficies  of  18,000  hectares, 
or,  say,  45,000  acres.  The  longitudinal  streets  run  from  the  river 
more  or  less  from  east  to  west,  and  the  cross -streets  at  right  angles 
north  and  south.  The  central  longitudinal  street,  Calle  Rivadavia, 
running  from  the  river  to  the  suburb  of  Almagro,  divides  the  town 
into  two  parts,  and  on  crossing  it  the  transverse  streets  change  their 
names.  Thus  Calle  Florida,  when  it  crosses  Rivadavia  and  continues 
southward,  assumes  the  name  of  Peru,  and  so  with  all  the  others.  The 
fa9ades  of  each  cuadra , taken  two  by  two,  one  on  each  side  of  a street, 
comprise  one  hundred  numbers,  fifty  on  each  side ; the  first  cuadra 
contains  numbers  1-100;  the  second,  101-200;  the  third,  201-300, 
and  so  on.  It  is  thus  easy  to  calculate  the  distance  to  a given  spot. 
Number  3091,  for  instance,  must  be  in  the  thirty-first  cuadra.  Noth- 
ing can  be  imagined  more  monotonous  than  to  walk  through  these 
narrow,  straight,  interminable  streets  which,  for  the  most  part,  present 
the  same  uninteresting  perspective  and  the  same  stupid  fa<;ades  from 
No.  1 to  No.  4000,  where  the  eye  at  last  descries  the  leprous  and  arid 
landscape  of  the  gray  suburban  plains. 

In  the  new  parts  of  the  town  only,  towards  the  north,  have  the  di- 
mensions of  the  streets  been  changed,  and  while  the  rectangular  sys- 
tem of  cuadras  has  been  maintained,  the  width  of  the  thoroughfares 
has  been  more  than  doubled,  and  fine  roads  have  been  laid  out  and 
planted  with  shade-trees  on  the  model  of  the  boulevards  of  Paris. 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


265 


Such  are  the  Avenidas  de  la  Republica  and  General  Alvear,  the  Calles 
Santa  Fe,  Rodriguez  Pena,  Belgrano,  and  Callao,  and  the  Boulevard 
Corrientes,  where  many  handsome  buildings  have  been  erected  of  late 

years.  In  all  these  streets  and 
boulevards  the  indispensable  horse- 
car  runs,  generally  up  one  street 
^ and  down  a parallel  street,  the  nar- 

rowness not  permitting  a double 
line  of  rails.  In  1890  the  six  tram- 
way companies  of  Buenos  Ayres 


LECHEROS. 


were  using  199,378  kilo- 
metres of  track,  342  coach- 
es, and  5882  horses.  The 
journeys  of  the  first  three  ife,  '7 

months  of  the  year  amounted  to  374,355, 
and  the  passengers  carried  to  10,177,078. 

The  traffic  of  the  streets  of  Buenos  Ayres  does  not  present  many 
picturesque  elements.  Among  the  most  characteristic  types  are  the 
lecheros , or  milkmen,  generally  Basques,  who  ride  in  from  the  suburbs 
on  the  top  of  their  milk- cans,  after  the  common  South  American 


266 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


style.  Morning  and  evening  may  be  remarked,  even  in  the  crowded 
streets  of  the  centre,  groups  of  milch  kine,  followed  by  their  calves, 
with  leather  muzzles  over  their  noses,  halting  in  front  of  a house 
while  one  of  them  is  being  milked.  There  are  also  many  tambos , 

or  dairies,  all  over  the 
town,  for  the  most  part 
dirty  and  alarmingly  un- 
hygienic. The  mozos  de 
cordel , changadores , or 
street  porters,  Basques 
to  a large  extent,  also 
form  characteristic  fig- 
ure subjects  as  they 
stand  at  the  street  cor- 
ners, with  their  red  or 
blue  caps,  their  sacks, 
and  their  length  of  rope, 
waiting  for  customers, 
and  ready  to  vie  with 
the  kamals  of  Constan- 
tinople in  carrying  enor- 
mous weights  on  their 
shoulders.  In  the  morn- 
ing, too,  may  still  be 
seen  in  the  vicinity  of 
the  markets  huge  bul- 
lock carts,  or  carrctas, 
drawn  by  two  or  three 
yokes  of  oxen.  The  re- 
maining street  types  are 
fish  - sellers,  who  carry 
their  merchandise  slung 
on  a pole,  itinerant  ven- 
dors  of  provisions  of 
various  kinds,  dirty  lit- 

STREET  PORTERS.  . J 

tie  urchins  who  black 
shoes,  still  dirtier  and 
noisier  boys  who  sell  newspapers,  organ-grinders,  a few  ambulant  mu- 
sicians, and  a certain  number  of  deformed,  decrepit,  or  able-bodied 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


267 


beggars.  The  rest  of  the  passers-by  are  of  cosmopolitan  type,  the 
predominant  features  being  Italian  and  Spanish,  and  the  costume  as 
uniform  and  uninteresting  as  imported  ready-made  clothing  can  ren- 
der it. 

The  rapidity 
of  the  growth  of 


Buenos  Ayres  is 
one  of  the  most 
remarkable  phe- 
nomena that  the 
statisticians  of  the 
century  have  ob- 
served ; it  is  pro- 
nounced  to  be 
marvellous  and 
without  parallel. 
The  effective  pop- 
ulation, including 
visi  tors,  at  the 
time  of  the  last 
census  ( Septem- 
ber, 1887),  was 

433-375-  The  pop- 
ulation actually 
domiciled  in  the 
city  and  the  an- 
nexed suburbs  of 
Flores  and  Bel- 
srano  at  the  mo- 

O 


'll 

T mZ-wt  1 

k ] 

w $ 

TrJ P|j|.  \ \i 

llr 

ment  of  the  cen- 
sus Was  423,996.  SHOEBLACKS. 

The  legal  popu- 
lation— that  is  to 

say,  the  population  born  on  the  spot — was  only  75,062.  The  balance 
between  the  legal  and  the  effective  population,  358,313  persons,  con- 
sisted of  129,672  born  in  various  parts  of  the  republic,  and  228,641 
foreigners.  At  the  time  of  the  previous  census,  taken  in  1869,  the 
population  of  the  actual  city  and  suburbs  amounted  to  187,126,  so 
that  the  increase  in  eighteen  years  was  246,249  souls.  The  statisti- 


268 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


cians  furthermore  demonstrate  that  the  annual  increase  of  Buenos 
Ayres  is  greater  than  that  of  Chicago  or  any  other  North  American 
city.  The  proportion  of  foreigners  in  1887  was  112  to  every  100 
Argentines.  Argentines  figure  for  47.2  per  cent,  in  the  total  popu- 
lation; Italians,  31.1  per  cent.;  Spaniards,  9 per  cent.;  French,  4.6 
per  cent.;  and  all  the  foreigners  together,  52.8  per  cent,  of  the  total 
population.  In  the  census  of  1887  the  Germans  and  the  English 
numbered  each  about  4000,  and  the  North  Americans  less  than  600. 

As  regards  religion,  the  immense  majority  of  the  population,  97.8 
per  cent.,  professedly  belongs  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith;  1.8  per 
cent,  includes  Protestants  of  all  sects,  mostly  English  and  Germans ; 
Israelites  of  both  sexes  number  366;  and  free-thinkers,  868.  Such  at 
least  are  the  figures  of  the  census  of  1887,  and  there  is  no  reason  to 
believe  that  the  proportions  have  materially  changed  since  that  date. 

In  the  years  1888  and  1889  immigration  continued  on  a large 
scale,  and  the  total  population  of  the  city  is  supposed  to  have  in- 
creased to  half  a million.  In  the  beginning  of  1890,  however,  the 
current  of  immigration  slackened,*  and  entirely  ceased  by  the  time 
the  revolution  of  July  broke  out,  while  at  the  same  time,  owing  to 
the  monetary  crisis,  the  cessation  of  building  operations,  and  the  in- 
creased cost  of  living,  a counter-current  of  emigration  set  in,  and  took 
away  many  thousand  masons,  carpenters,  and  artisans,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  people  engaged  in  commerce ; so  that,  although  it  is  currently 
stated  that  Buenos  Ayres  has  an  actual  population  of  half  a million, 
it  would  be  nearer  the  truth  to  fix  the  figure  at  475,000,  or  even  less. 

The  city  itself  has  naturally  increased  with  the  growth  of  the  pop- 
ulation. The  census  of  1869  gave  a total  of  20,858  houses  for  the 
city  and  the  suburbs  of  Flores  and  Belgrano,  out  of  which  1300  were 
mere  ranchos , or  huts,  with  thatched  roofs,  and  1558  modern  struct- 


* The  following  figures  show  the  number  of  immigrants  who  arrived  at  Buenos  Ayres 
during  the  first  five  months  of  1889  and  1890: 


Month 

1889. 

1890. 

January 

22,100 

15.531 

February 

23.595 

12,307 

March 

18,965 

11,259 

April 

20479 

10,480 

May 

20,889 

9.724 

Total 

106,028 

59.301 

THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


269 


ures.  This  total,  however,  is  misleading,  because  apartments  and  flats 
are  in  many  cases  counted  as  houses.  The  census  of  1887,  more 
accurate  and  trustworthy,  gives  a total  for  the  city  and  suburbs  of 
33,804  houses,  of  which  the  vast  majority,  28,353,  have  only  one  story, 
4979  two  stories,  436  three  stories,  and  36  four  stories.  The  census 
of  1869  mentions  no  houses  having  four  stories.  Furthermore,  it 
may  be  noted  that  in  the  census  of  1887  the  thatched  ranchos  have 
entirely  disappeared.  The  great  increase  in  building  began  in  1880, 
and  came  to  a halt  in  1890,  when  the  emigration  current  and  the 
crisis  caused  a decrease  in  the  population  of  the  city,  and  therefore 
in  the  demand  for  lodging.  Within  a few  weeks  the  “to  let”  cards 
made  their  appearance  all  over  the  town — a phenomena  which  ap- 
peared novel  and  strange  to  the  old  inhabitants  and  alarming  to  the 
statisticians. 

The  history  of  domestic  architecture  in  Buenos  Ayres  may  be 
divided  into  four  periods.  The  first  is  that  of  the  thatched  rancho. 
The  second  is  that  of  cane  roofs,  thick  walls  of  adobe  or  brick,  doors 
studded  with  big  nails,  few  and  small  windows  protected  by  heavy 
iron  gratings,  large  rooms,  and  court-yards  after  the  Andalusian  style. 
The  builders  of  these  spacious  houses  were  Spanish  masons  called 
alarifes . Several  of  the  old-fashioned  houses  still  exist  in  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  are  inhabited  by  conservative  creole  families.  In  the  old 
provincial  towns,  like  Cordoba  and  Corrientes,  they  are  also  numer- 
ous. The  houses  of  the  third  period  have  tile  roofs,  parapets,  and 
balustrades  to  crown  the  fa9ade,  exterior  walls  coated  with  stucco  or 
Roman  cement,  and  painted  rose,  blue,  and  other  colors,  ornamental 
wrought  or  cast-iron  gratings,  or  rejas , over  the  windows,  marble  pave- 
ments, and  often  marble  panels  on  the  walls.  Houses  of  this  descrip- 
tion, generally  only  one  story  high,  and  built  for  the  most  part  by 
Italian  masons,  form  eighty  per  cent,  of  the  total  of  the  capital. 
They  are  small,  inconvenient,  unhygienic,  and  entirely  without  mod- 
ern comforts.  Their  exterior  aspect  reveals  no  particular  style  of 
architecture  ; most  of  them  are  plain  and  devoid  of  any  ornamenta- 
tion except  the  iron  gratings  over  the  windows ; others  are  over- 
loaded with  capitals,  cornices,  columns,  caryatides,  and  fleurons,  all 
modelled  in  cement,  and  very  limited  in  design.  You  see  the  same 
patterns  repeated  on  a hundred  houses.  Similar  want  of  variety  and 
want  of  taste  is  displayed  in  the  painting  and  interior  adornment  of 
the  rooms.  The  current  ideal  of  domestic  architecture  seems  to  con- 


270 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


sist  in  the  greatest  possible  quantity  of  ornamentation  on  the  fagade 
and  in  the  court-yard,  or  patio , which  must  further  be  decorated  with 
plaster  statues  and  some  palm-trees  and  plants  in  pots.  Then  the 
whole  is  pronounced  to  be  very  pretty  ( muy  Undo).  The  fourth  and 
present  period  is  one  of  complete  transformation.  The  materials  of 
construction  are  exclusively  iron  for  columns,  girders,  and  rafters, 
which  are  mostly  manufactured  in  Belgium,  and  brick  and  cement 
for  the  walls  and  ornaments.  The  buildings,  whether  business  blocks 
or  dwelling-houses,  have  basement  floors  and  three  or  four  stories, 
and  all  the  conveniences  that  hygienic  engineering  has  devised. 
Some  of  the  modern  business  blocks,  for  instance,  those  of  Tornquist 
and  Company,  Staudt  and  Company,  and  several  blocks  in  the  Calle 
Florida,  including  the  vast  edifice  of  the  Bon  Marche,  still  in  course 
of  construction,  the  building  of  the  Municipality,  and  several  of  the 
new  school-houses,  are  very  handsome,  the  dominant  style  being  so- 
called  modern  German,  or,  in  other  words,  an  adaptation  of  Renais- 
sance elements  to  modern  requirements.  The  tendency  of  this  new 
movement  in  Argentine  architecture  is  to  give  to  the  capital  a mark- 
edly European  aspect.  In  the  domestic  architecture,  on  the  other 
hand,  especially  in  the  new  houses  to  be  seen  in  the  north  of  the  city, 
the  favorite  styles  seem  to  be  French  and  Italian  Renaissance,  with 
high  peaked  roofs,  jutting  turrets,  and  oriel-windows.  All  this  seems 
strange  when  one  reflects  upon  the  fitness  of  things  in  general  and 
the  conditions  of  architecture  in  particular.  In  Buenos  Ayres  there 
is  no  building  stone  of  any  kind,  much  less  a stone  susceptible  of 
receiving  the  delicate  carving  that  contributes  to  the  essential  charm 
of  Renaissance  architecture.  The  Chateau  of  Blois  is  beautiful  be- 
yond expression,  but  where  would  be  the  merit  of  its  ornate  columns 
if  its  lace-work  balustrades  and  its  arabesqued  panels  were  made  of 
cement  and  sham?  What  lasting  pleasure  can  one  take  in  things  that 
are  simile , false,  not  genuine,  not  logical.  Then,  again,  what  raison 
d'etre  have  steep  Renaissance  roofs  in  a climate  like  that  of  the 
Argentine?  In  what  respect  is  a modern  Berlin  mansion  particularly 
suited  to  the  fierce  summer  heat  of  Buenos  Ayres?  Are  the  Parisian 
villas  of  the  Plaine  Monceau  dwellings  adapted  to  the  conditions  of 
life  on  the  banks  of  La  Plata?  One  may  be  permitted  to  entertain 
doubts  on  these  points,  and,  at  any  rate,  to  regret  that  the  Argen- 
tines have  so  lightly  abandoned  the  traditions  of  the  old  Spanish  set- 
tlers— so  far,  at  least,  as  domestic  architecture  is  concerned.  The 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


271 


sources  of  inspiration  that  are  naturally  and  historically  indicated  to 
the  modern  Argentine  architects  are  not  those  of  the  Renaissance, 
whether  French,  Italian,  Belgian,  or  modern  German,  but  those  of  the 
Moorish  monuments  of  Andalusia  and  of  the  East.  The  architectonic 
distribution  of  the  Moorish  house  is  the  one  that  has  hitherto  pre- 
vailed in  Spanish  America ; the  constructive  materials  of  Moorish 
architecture  are  those  which  the  resources  of  the  country  offer;  the 
methods  and  kinds  of  ornamentation  employed  by  the  Moors  are 
alone  reasonable  and  appropriate  where  the  natural  and  available  ele- 
ments are  clay,  lime,  sand,  and  their  derivatives,  together  with  wood 
and  marble. 

While  the  narrow  streets  of  Buenos  Ayres  are  inadequate  for  the 
actual  traffic,  the  houses  are  insufficient  to  lodge  the  population  in 
conditions  of  decency.  The  working-classes,  especially,  are  most  mis- 
erably quartered  in  tenement-houses  constructed  without  regard  to 


2J2 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


hygiene.  Considering  its  vast  extent — 18,000  hectares — the  city  is 
thinly  populated,  the  explanation  being  the  prevalence  of  houses  of 
one  story  occupying  a superficies  which,  in  a city  like  Paris  or  Berlin, 
would  be  covered  by  a house  of  five  or  six  stories,  giving  accommoda- 
tion to  twenty  or  thirty  families.  Even  in  the  centre  of  the  city — for 
instance,  in  the  Calle  Florida,  the  Bond  Street,  and  the  Boulevard  des 
Italiens  of  Buenos  Ayres — there  are  many  houses  of  one  story,  and 
still  more  of  two  only.  Why,  one  asks,  do  not  the  owners  build  new 
and  lofty  blocks  ? Surely  it  would  be  a good  investment,  given  the 
dearness  of  rents.  Yes,  this  reasoning  is  excellent;  but  the  proprie- 
tors remain  imperturbable,  either  through  creole  apathy,  or  because 
they  have  hitherto  preferred  to  employ  their  money  in  the  more  rap- 
idly and  more  handsomely  remunerative  business  of  speculation  in 
land,  stocks,  and  gold.*  At  any  rate,  the  fact  remains  that  80  per  cent, 
of  the  houses  of  the  Argentine  capital  have  only  one  story,  that  rents 
are  enormously  high,  and  that  the  population  is  distributed  over  a 
superficies  so  great  that  a large  portion  of  the  lives  of  the  citizens  is 
uselessly  spent  in  the  disagreeable  and  stultifying  process  of  travelling 
in  the  horse-cars. 

As  for  the  poorer  classes,  who  cannot  afford  to  lose  time  and 
money  in  locomotion,  they  are  crowded  in  the  centre  of  the  town,  in 
the  so-called  conventillos , those  fearful  sheds  with  zinc  and  iron  roofs 
that  are  to  be  seen  near  the  river  between  the  central  station  and  the 
suburb  of  La  Boca.  The  census  of  1887  shows  that  there  were  at 
that  date  2835  conventillos  in  the  city,  inhabited  by  116,167  persons, 
who  live  a dozen  or  more  in  a room,  in  conditions  that  render  moral- 
ity, decency,  or  cleanliness  impossible.!  Recently  a few  newr  tene- 
ment-houses have  been  built  in  hygienic  conditions  and  according  to 
the  new  regulations  of  the  police ; but  in  order  to  accommodate  the 


* The  reconstruction  of  modern  Buenos  Ayres  is  subject  to  certain  municipal  regula- 
tions which  leave  complete  latitude  to  the  architect  as  far  as  style  and  decoration  are  con- 
cerned, but  require  certain  conditions  of  solidity  and  impose  certain  limits  of  height. 
Thus,  in  the  streets  that  are  less  than  10  metres  wide,  the  faqade  of  a building,  measured 
from  the  sidewalk  to  the  cornice,  must  not  exceed  sixteen  metres.  In  the  wider  streets 
the  facades  may  be  higher,  but  must  never  exceed  twenty  metres.  Public  buildings, 
theatres,  churches,  and  special  edifices  are  exempt  from  these  rules. 

f The  census  of  1887  shows  that  the  total  number  of  houses  in  the  city  contain  261,456 
rooms.  The  average  of  rooms  in  the  Buenos  Ayres  houses  is,  therefore,  less  than  eight. 
More  than  35  per  cent,  of  the  houses  contain  from  three  to  five  rooms.  The  majority  of 
these  houses  naturally  occupy  ground  on  which  houses  of  ten,  twenty,  thirty,  or  more 
rooms  could  be  built. 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


273 


poorer  classes  of  Buenos  Ayres  in  a more  or  less  humane  manner,  at 
least  6000  such  houses,  each  with  a capacity  of  200  persons,  are 
needed.  It  is  needless  to  add  that  this  number  will  not  be  attained 
for  years  to  come  at  the  present  rate  of  progression.  Meanwhile  the 
old  system  of  unhealthy  and  abominable  sheds  remains,  and  the  poorer 
working-men  and  their  families  live  in  bestial  promiscuity. 

The  apparatus  of  public  instruction  seems  to  occupy  the  attention 
of  the  Government  in  a becoming  manner,  and  doubtless  in  course  of 
time  the  citizens  will  be  fairly  well  educated.  At  present,  as  far  as 
my  experience  goes,  the  young  Argentines  are  as  ignorant  and  badly 
informed  as  they  are  badly  behaved,  and  that,  too,  not  from  want  of 
intelligence — they  are  even  precociously  intelligent — but  from  lack  of 
severe  and  logical  training.  One  is  tempted  to  conclude  that  there  is 
a want  of  discipline  and  of  good  pedagogic  methods  in  the  schools 
and  colleges,  and  one  cannot  believe  that  the  extreme  license  allowed 
to  boys  of  ten  and  twelve  years  of  age,  such  as  liberty  to  smoke,  and  to 
contract  premature  habits  of  vice  and  immorality,  is  compatible  with 
good  intellectual  training.  A more  corrupt,  rude,  unlicked,  and  irre- 
pressible creature  than  the  average  Argentine  boy  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  find  in  any  other  civilized  country.  The  girls,  too,  have  an  air 
of  effrontery  and  a liberty  of  language  to  which  the  older  civilizations 
of  the  world  have  not  accustomed  us.  The  educational  statistics  are, 
however,  satisfactory,  so  far  as  mere  registered  results  are  concerned. 
There  are  two  universities,  one  at  Buenos  Ayres  and  one  at  Cordoba, 
which  together  counted  993  students  in  1889,  and  delivered  234  di- 
plomas, including  81  doctors  of  law,  85  doctors  of  medicine,  and  11 
civil  engineers.  In  the  whole  republic  there  are  16  national  colleges, 
with  a teaching  corps  of  464  professors,  and  an  attendance,  in  1889,  of 
2599  pupils.  In  the  capital  and  provinces  there  are  35  normal  schools, 
with  12,024  pupils  of  both  sexes,  who  become  professors  and  teachers, 
chiefly  for  the  primary  schools.  In  Buenos  Ayres,  in  1889,  there  were 
285  primary  schools,  directed  by  1571  teachers,  and  attended  by 
54,509  children.  In  the  provinces  there  were  2719  primary  schools, 
with  a teaching  staff  of  4532,  and  an  attendance  of  205,186.  To  re- 
sume, the  results  obtained  were  3042  primary  schools,  6103  teachers, 
259,695  pupils,  and  2373  primary  school-houses  in  the  whole  republic. 
Of  these  school-houses  485  are  the  property  of  the  nation  or  of  the 
provinces,  and  1888  private  property. 

About  100  periodical  publications  are  issued  in  the  Argentine 

18 


274 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


3000 ; the  Buenos  Ayres  Herald , 
about  1 500 ; La  P atria  Italiana, 
12,000;  L'Operaio  Italiano , 6000; 
El  Correo  Espanol , 4000 ; Slid 
America , 6000;  the  evening  jour- 
nals El  Nacional  and  El  Diario , 
the  latter  with  a circulation  of 
about  13,000;  the  weekly  satirical  journal  Don  Quijote,  and  the 


PLAZA  SAN  MARTIN. 


capital,  but  only  a few  have  any  real  importance,  either  from  their  con- 
tents or  the  extent  of  their  circulation.  The  chief  are  the  daily  pa- 
pers— La  Prensa  and  La  Nacion, 
each  with  a circulation  of  about 
20,000  ; Le  Courier  de  la  Plata , with 
less  than  5000  ; The  Standard , about 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


275 


Sud  Americano  illustrado,  which  aspires  to  become  the  Harpers 
Weekly  or  the  Graphic  of  South  America.  The  principal  daily 
journals  are  large  four-page  blanket  sheets  printed  on  poor  paper, 
of  slovenly  typographical  aspect,  and  of  inconvenient  proportions. 
As  regards  commerce  and  financial  matters,  they  are  excellently 
informed  ; their  foreign  news  is  as  good  as  can  be  obtained  from 
the  telegraphic  agencies ; their  political  articles  are  generally  well 
written  and  full  of  good  sense,  except  in  certain  journals  like  Le 
Coiirier  de  la  Plata  and  Sud  America,  which  have  sold  their  indepen- 
dence for  government  subventions ; the  local  news  is  collected  by 
reporters  whose  zeal  seems  to  be  exemplary.  As  for  the  rest  of  the 
paper — the  social  article,  the  musical,  dramatic,  and  literary  criticism 
— it  is  “ amateurish,”  to  say  the  best.  Apart  from  the  good  features 
noted  above,  the  newspapers  of  the  Argentine  capital  owe  all  their 
excellence  and  readableness  to  plumes  borrowed  from  the  Parisian 
papers,  whose  chroniques , essays,  and  stories  they  translate.  La 
Prcnsa  and  La  Nacion  also  have  special  correspondence  from  Paris, 
written  by  Jules  Simon,  Jules  Claretie,  and  Paul  Foucher,  and  letters 
from  Madrid  by  Castelar  and  Perez  Galdoz,  the  novelist.  Like  all 
Latin  newspapers,  those  of  Buenos  Ayres  publish  a feitilleton , which  is 
almost  invariably  a translation  from  the  French.  Indeed,  such  intel- 
lectual life  as  exists  in  the  Argentine  is  a distant  reflection  of  that  of 
Paris;  there  is  no  native  literary  production  worthy  of  the  name,  ex- 
cept in  the  departments  of  history  and  of  versification.  The  literary 
production  of  modern  Spain  is  exceedingly  limited,  as  is  proved  by 
the  booksellers’  windows  in  Madrid  and  Barcelona,  where  for  one 
modern  Spanish  book  you  will  find  twenty  translations  from  the 
French.  The  same  is  the  case  in  the  bookstores  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
where  all  the  attractive  illustrated  periodicals  of  Paris,  and  all  the  new 
novels  are  displayed  in  abundance  and  renewed  by  every  ship  that 
comes  into  port,  while  the  Spanish  vessels  a little  later  being  transla- 
tions of  the  French  novelties  and  rarely  a new  Spanish  work.  Thus 
it  happens  that  the  signatures  you  find  in  the  newspapers  of  Buenos 
Ayres  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  Parisian  journals : Zola,  Daudet, 
Goncourt,  Feuillet,  Guy  de  Maupassant,  Georges  Ohnet,  Jules  Mary, 
Xavier  de  Montepin,  etc.  The  intellectual  influence  of  F ranee  in  the 
Argentine  Republic  is  too  noticeable  not  to  be  particularly  dwelt 
upon.  Indeed,  in  all  that  concerns  civilization,  the  Argentines  look 
up  to  the  French,  and  imitate  them  when  they  get  rich  enough  and 


2/6 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


sufficiently  cultivated,  just  as  the  preceding  generations  in  political 
matters  looked  up  to  and  tried  to  imitate  the  United  States.  Nowa- 
days, however,  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  prestige  of  the 
United  States  is  not  what  it  used  to  be  in  the  Argentine  mind,  a fact 
for  which  the  inadequate  diplomatic  representation  of  the  great  North- 
ern sister  is  largely  responsible,  combined,  of  course,  with  the  limited 
commercial  intercourse  existing  between  the  two  republics.  On  this 
point  Dr.  Roque  Saenz  Pena  expressed  the  real  sentiments  of  the 
country  when,  at  the  Congress  of  Washington,  he  said,  in  terms  that 
were  scarcely  softened  in  their  intensity  by  a veil  of  courtesy : “ I am 
not  wanting  in  affection  and  love  for  America.  I am  rather  wanting 
in  distrust  and  ingratitude  towards  Europe.  I do  not  forget  that  there 
is  Spain,  our  mother,  contemplating  with  unfeigned  joy  the  develop- 
ment of  her  old  dominions  under  the  action  of  noble  and  virile  peo- 
ples that  have  inherited  her  blood;  that  there  is  Italy,  our  friend; 
there  France,  our  sister.  . . . Europe  that  sends  us  laborers  and  com- 
pletes our  economical  life,  after  having  sent  us  her  civilization  and  her 
culture,  her  science,  her  arts,  her  industries,  and  her  customs,  which 
have  completed  our  sociological  evolution.” 

In  the  commerce  of  Buenos  Ayres  the  banking,  import,  and  export 
business  predominate,  and  these,  together  with  the  derivative  branches, 
maritime  agencies,  commission  houses,  custom-house  clearers,  or  des- 
pachantes  de  aduana*  money-changers,  and  auctioneers,  all  operate  on 
an  enormous  scale.  The  movement  and  activity  of  the  port,  the  ware* 


* The  despachante  de  aduana  is  an  indispensable  person  in  the  ports  of  Buenos  Ayres 
and  of  Montevideo.  In  the  Argentine  and  in  Uruguay  the  customs  regulations  require  so 
many  complicated  operations  for  the  landing  and  clearing  of  imported  merchandise  that 
much  practice  and  special  knowledge  are  necessary  in  order  to  get  the  goods  out  without 
harm  and  without  too  great  loss  of  time.  Thus  the  men  who  know  the  ins  and  outs  and 
all  the  processes  of  the  custom-house  possess  a very  lucrative  profession,  and  even  the 
largest  importing  houses  find  it  preferable  to  employ  these  specialists  rather  than  to  intrust 
the  delicate  work  of  clearing  to  an  employe  of  their  own.  The  custom-house  of  Buenos 
Ayres  is  generally  reported  to  be  a hot-bed  of  thievery  and  corruption,  and  several  of  the 
superior  employes  with  whom  I talked  confirmed  the  rumors  that  I had  heard  from  trades- 
men. The  slowness  of  this  department  is  a great  hinderance  to  commerce.  It  is  impossible 
to  get  anything  out  of  the  custom-house  in  less  than  one  month  after  its  arrival ; if  you 
get  your  goods  cleared  within  two  months  you  are  lucky.  The  European  exporters  give 
the  Argentines  six  months’  credit  from  the  date  of  shipment  of  goods.  Supposing  the 
goods  go  out  in  a sailing  ship,  we  may  reckon  ninety  days  for  the  journey,  and  sixty  to 
seventy  days  for  the  custom-house  formalities,  and  so  the  importer  really  has  no  credit  at 
all.  A whole  chapter  might  be  written  on  the  tyranny,  abuses,  and  obstructive  regulations 
of  the  Argentine  custom-houses. 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


277 


houses,  the  Bourse,  and  the  business  streets  of  the  Argentine  capital 
is  truly  marvellous,  and  to  be  compared  only  with  that  of  the  great 
commercial  ports  of  Europe.  To  enter  into  details  concerning 
all  these  businesses 
would  require  many 
pages  of  technical 
considerations  that 
would  not  interest 
the  general  reader, 
and  which  the  spe- 
cialist will  find 
ready  at  hand  in 
published  treatises 
— at  least,  so  far  as 
concerns  the  finan- 


cial history  of  the 
republic  up  to  the 
last  crisis.  It  may, 
however,  be  of  gen- 
eral interest  to  make 
a few  remarks 
about  certain  spe- 
cial branches  that 
are  peculiarly  char- 
acteristic of  the  Ar- 
gentine, such,  for 
instance,  as  the 
stores  for  the  sale 
of  building  materi- 
als, corralones  de  madcra  and  ferreterias. 

The  principal  articles  sold  by  the  for- 
mer are,  besides  timber,  the  iron  col- 
umns, girders,  and  rafters,  columnas 
and  tirantes , now  exclusively  used  in 

all  modern  constructions,  both  in  town  and  country.  Some  of  these 
corralones  do  a daily  average  business  of  $30,000.  The  ferreterias , 
besides  ironmongery  and  general  hardware  fittings,  also  sell  paint, 
varnish,  wall-paper,  gilt  mouldings,  and  window-glass.  Many  of  these 
stores  are  immense  and  luxurious  in  aspect. 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT 
HOUSE. 


278 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


In  the  retail  commerce  of  the  city  the  shops  for  the  sale  of  articles 
of  luxury  occupy  the  first  place,  together  with  the  bazaars,  the  jewelry 
shops,  and  the  dry-goods  stores,  of  which  one,  La  Ciudad  de  Londres, 
is  a small  rival  of  the  Paris  Magasins  du  Louvre.  In  no  city,  perhaps, 
except  Montevideo,  are  jewellers’  shops  more  numerous  in  proportion 
to  the  population  than  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and  at  least  forty  or  fifty  are 
fine  and  rich  establishments,  having  most  costly  and  extensive  stocks 
of  the  dearest  articles — brilliants,  pearls,  precious  stones,  chronometers, 
and  watches  of  the  most  expensive  kind.  The  majority  of  the  dia- 
monds and  precious  stones  sold  in  Buenos  Ayres  are  mounted  in  the 
city,  and  I may  say  without  exaggeration  that  the  jewellers  of  Paris 
and  of  London  do  not  make  a more  brilliant  display  of  costly  jewels 
than  their  colleagues  of  the  Calle  Florida.  Most  attractive  displays 
are  also  found  in  the  bazaars,  which  make  a specialty  of  all  the  fancy 
articles  and  objects  of  art  or  of  luxury  that  London,  Paris,  Milan, 
Venice,  and  Vienna  produce — bronzes,  marble  statues  by  facile  Italian 
chisels,  terra-cotta  figures,  Italian  oil-paintings  and  fac-simile  water- 
colors,  French  photogravures,  Italian  carved  furniture,  gorgeously- 
framed  mirrors,  lacquered  articles  from  Paris,  caskets,  glove -boxes, 
fans,  dressing-cases,  Japanese  porcelain,  gaudy  albums,  rich  table  ser- 
vices, and  silver  toilet  sets  of  prodigious  size  and  splendor.  One  of 
the  first  things  that  struck  me  as  I strolled  along  the  Calle  Florida, 
after  the  glittering  and  innumerable  diamonds,  was  the  size  and  quan- 
tity of  silver  toilet  jugs  and  basins  — objects  rarely  seen  in  Europe 
except  in  the  houses  of  crowned  heads  and  cocottcs.  Some  of  these 
bazaars  do  business  only  by  auction ; there  are  sales  two  or  three 
nights  a week,  and  exhibitions  of  objects,  with  a free  piano  recital,  on 
the  other  nights.  At  these  auctions  the  more  showy  and  useless  the 
article,  the  higher  the  price  it  fetches;  and  as  regards  pictures,  oleo- 
graphs, engravings,  and  bronzes — whether  real  bronze  or  zinc  d'art , as 
the  French  term  is — my  observations  tended  to  show  that  the  larger 
the  size,  and  the  more  complete  the  nudity  of  the  subject  represented, 
the  higher  the  price  paid.  The  majority  of  the  objects  sold  at  these 
auctions  are  imported  from  Italy.  While  speaking  of  the  immense 
demand  for  rich  fancy  articles  and  objets  de  luxe  which  has  existed  at 
Buenos  Ayres  during  the  ten  years  of  prosperity  between  1880  and 
1890,  it  is  curious  to  note  how  easily  the  market  has  been  worked, 
and  what  poor,  vulgar,  and  commonplace  articles  the  Argentines  have 
received  in  exchange  for  their  dollars.  Both  in  the  houses  and  in  the 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


-7  9 


shops  of  Buenos  Ayres  objects  of  real  artistic  merit  are  extremely 
rare,  and  bad  taste  reigns  supreme  in  the  accessories,  ornaments,  and 
bibelots , as  well  as  in  the  furniture  and  hangings.  The  culture  of  the 
Argentines  is  still  too  limited  to  entitle  us  to  ask  of  them  evidences 
of  delicate  taste.  Their  love  of  showiness  is  an  instinct,  and  not 
to  be  lightly  condemned.  They  are  typical  rastacoideres,  and  their 
natural  tendency  is  to  buy  what  is  rich  and  expensive.  Given  these 
conditions,  the  modern  North  American  art  industries — the  gold  and 
silver  smiths’  art,  the  weaving  of  rich  stuffs,  the  making  of  fine  furni- 
ture and  glassware,  and  the  various  minor  industries  which  produce 
fancy  articles,  often  far  from  commendable  it  is  true,  but  nevertheless 
always  having  a cachet  of  their  own  when  placed  side  by  side  with  the 
old-fashioned  routine  goods  of  Europe — have  been  neglecting  an  ex- 
cellent and  willing  market.  Hitherto  these  finer  North  American 
manufactures  are  quite  unknown  in  the  southern  republics. 

The  auctioneer,  martillero  or  rematador , is  a great  personage  in 
the  Argentine,  and  an  indispensable  factor  in  the  commerce  of  the 
country.  An  auction,  or  remate , is  the  beginning,  the  end,  and  the  in- 
termediary period  of  almost  every  transaction.  In  no  city  in  the  world 
is  there  anything  to  be  compared  with  the  remates  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  in  no  country  has  sale  by  auction  become  the  universal  national 
institution  that  it  is  in  the  Argentine.  The  moment  the  visitor  lands 
he  sees  immense  advertisements,  remate  de  terrenos , a fine  corner  lot 
here,  so  many  leagues  there ; the  fourth  page  of  the  huge  blanket- 
sheet  newspapers  is  filled  with  advertisements  of  sales  of  land  and 
houses ; the  streets  are  hung  with  flags,  banners,  and  scarlet  cloths, 
with  white  letters  announcing  gran  rcmate  of  this  and  that,  along  the 
Paseo  de  Julio  the  cheap-jack  shops  have  their  auctioneers  perched  on 
the  counters,  and  other  rematadores  are  there  under  the  colonnade 
ready  to  sell  leagues  of  land  to  the  newly  arrived  immigrants.  Car- 
goes of  imported  merchandise,  ships,  land,  houses,  crops,  wool,  the  prod- 
ucts and  fruits  of  the  country,  cattle,  blood  stock,  furniture,  jewelry, 
things  new  and  things  old,  all  pass  under  the  hammer,  and  the  auction- 
eer takes  his  percentage,  varying  from  to  8 per  cent  , and  becomes 
richer  and  richer  as  his  voice  grows  hoarser  and  hoarser. 

In  the  newspapers,  in  advertisements,  and  in  official  reports  there  is 
much  self-congratulation  on  the  subject  of  the  progress  of  manufact- 
uring industry  in  the  republic.  The  moment  there  is  question  of  cre- 
ating an  “ indnstria  uacional"  the  Government  is  ever  ready  to  impose 


280 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


protective  customs  tariffs  on  the  article  concerned,  the  only  result  be- 
ing, in  nine  cases  out  of  ten,  to  put  a heavier  tax  on  the  consumer, 
who  is  still  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  the  foreign  producer.  In  re- 
ality Argentine  national  manufacturing  industry  is  at  present,  with 
certain  exceptions,  a small  and  often  factitious  affair.  Statistics,  how- 
ever, would  make  it  out  to  be  very  important.  Thus  the  official  cen- 
sus of  1887  mentions  more  than  6000  industrial  establishments  in  the 
city  of  Buenos  Ayres,  giving  employment  to  more  than  40,000  per- 
sons ; but  in  order  to  make  up  this  total  the  census  includes  700  shoe- 
makers, of  whom  some  are  mere  street-corner  cobblers,  466  tailors,  243 
bakers,  651  carpenters,  400  barbers,  114  confectioners,  279  modistes, 
and  so  forth.  These  are  certainly  manufacturing  industries,  but  not 
precisely  such  as  to  entitle  a country  to  great  industrial  renown. 
There  are,  however,  certain  national  industries  in  course  of  develop- 
ment which  are  worthy  of  note.  Such  are  the  oil  manufactories  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  producing  good  table  oil  from  the  pea-nut,  or  mani , 
which  grows  in  abundance  in  Santa  Fe,  Entre  Rios,  Corrientes,  and 
the  Chaco,  and  also  common  oils  from  other  oleaginous  seeds.  Cart, 
carriage,  and  harness  making  are  likewise  truly  national  and  flourish- 
ing industries,  as  well  as  brewing,  milling,  and  distilling,  canning  and 
preserving  meat,  fruit,  and  vegetables,  and  the  manufacture  of  macaroni 
and  alimentary  pastes,  cigars,  wax  matches,  and  furniture.  There  are 
some  fifty  macaroni  manufactories  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  cigar  and  cigarette  manufactories,  where  only  in- 
ferior cigars  are  produced,  but  where-  cigarettes  are  made  by  millions 
with  imported  tobacco,  chiefly  Havana  picadtira.  The  home-made 
cigarette  monopolizes  the  immense  Argentine  market;  the  marks 
are  very  numerous,  each  being  popularized  by  artistic  chromo-litho- 
graphic  wrappers  and  catching  names,  such  as  Excelsior,  Tip-Top, 
Clic- Clac,  etc. ; and  the  competition  between  those  engaged  in  this 
profitable  industry,  combined  with  the  Argentine  love  of  showy  novel- 
ties, necessitates  the  continual  creation  of  new  designs.  At  the  time 
of  my  visit  I counted  nearly  a hundred  varieties  of  cigarettes  in  the 
shops  of  the  capital.  The  native  wax  matches,  put  up  in  dainty  boxes 
after  the  French  and  Italian  fashion,  have  monopolized  the  market 
since  1880,  having  driven  out  the  Italian  matches  that  held  the  monop- 
oly from  1870,  up  to  which  latter  date  the  French  were  the  exclusive 
purveyors  of  this  article.  In  no  city  in  the  world,  in  proportion  to 
the  population,  are  more  wax  matches  used  than  in  the  Argentine 


THE  CATHEDRAL  AFTER  SERVICE. 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


283 


metropolis,  where  every  man  and  every  boy  above  ten  years  of  age 
smokes  cigarettes  from  morning  until  night  The  cigarette  is  toler- 
ated everywhere,  in  the  tram-ways  and  trains,  in-doors  and  out-of-doors, 
in  the  ministries  and  public  offices,  in  the  warehouses  and  offices; 
even  the  clerks  in  the  banks  smoke  their  cigarettes  and  puff  smoke  in 
your  face  as  they  hand  you  your  count  of  paper  dollars,  or  oro  sellado, 
and  the  ordinary  commercial  employe  may  generally  be  found  with  a 
cigarette  behind  one  ear  and  a wooden  toothpick  behind  the  other, 
always  ready  to  take  advantage  of  a moment’s  leisure.  When  you 
salute  a person,  Argentine  politeness  requires  you  to  take  off  your 
hat  but  allows  you  to  keep  your  cigarette  between  your  lips. 

The  furniture  interest  has  developed  within  the  past  twenty  years 
in  a remarkable  manner.  Formerly  only  plain  white -wood  articles 
were  made  in  the  republic,  while  Germany  supplied  the  rich  and  so- 
called  artistic  goods.  At  present  Germany  no  longer  sends  ship- 
loads of  furniture,  because  the  Argentine  national  manufacturers  have 
succeeded  in  imitating  with  advantage  the  taste  and  quality  of  all  the 
articles  formerly  imported  from  Germany.  The  French  furniture  im- 
ported nowadays  consists  only  of  fancy  pieces — chairs  and  metibles  de 
grand  luxe.  English  furniture  is  imported  in  small  quantities,  and 
North  America  and  Austria  supply  the  Argentine  with  thousands  of 
dozens  of  bent-wood  and  other  cheap  chairs,  which  are  seen  all  over 
the  republic,  in  the  houses  of  rich  and  poor  alike.  The  furniture 
manufactories  of  Buenos  Ayres,  numbering  more  than  three  hundred, 
supply  the  provinces  also;  and  although  we  hear  much  talk  about  the 
utilization  of  the  timber  riches  of  the  Chaco,  this  industry  is  still  de- 
pendent upon  imported  woods.* 

Monumental  Buenos  Ayres  does  not  offer  much  interest  from  the 
artistic  point  of  view,  the  general  impression  of  the  town  being  rather 
one  of  monotony  and  uniform  ugliness;  the  fine  buildings  there  are 

* The  census  of  1887  gives  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  commercial  houses 
of  Buenos  Ayres  as  33,904,  of  whom  more  than  13,000  are  Italians,  7000  Argentine,  7000 
Spaniards,  and  nearly  3000  French.  The  Germans  numbered  657;  the  English,  604 ; and 
the  North  Americans,  62.  The  Argentines  own  the  largest  number  of  houses,  whether  of 
importation,  exportation,  or  both  combined  ; but  the  houses  that  do  the  greatest  amount  of 
business  are  those  of  the  English  and  Germans,  the  former  owning  about  sixty  establish- 
ments, and  the  latter  ninety.  The  French  own  130  houses,  and  hold  the  third  place,  so  far 
as  importation  is  concerned,  according  to  the  statistics  of  1888,  and  the  second  place  next 
to  England  in  combined  imports  and  exports. 

The  number  of  casas  introductoras,  or  import  houses,  given  by  the  last  census,  is  672  ; 
export  houses,  55;  and  import  and  export  combined,  100;  in  all,  827. 


284 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


do  not  impose  themselves  upon  the  view;  one  has  to  search  delib- 
erately for  them,  especially  in  the  narrow  streets,  where  the  eye  com- 
mands only  a limited  perspective.  We  will  begin  our  review  with 
the  Plaza  de  la  Victoria,  which,  although  situated  on  the  flank  of  the 
city,  at  a distance  of  one  cuadra  from  the  river,  is,  nevertheless,  the 
conventional  centre  towards  which  converge  not  only  ten  important 
streets,  but  almost  all  the  tram -ways.  In  the  middle  of  the  plaza, 
which  is  laid  out  in  grass-plots  and  bordered  with  a cordon  of  palm- 
trees  affording  no  shade,  is  a white  stucco  pedestal  and  pyramidal  col- 
umn surmounted  by  a statue  of  Liberty,  the  whole  commemorating 
the  25th  of  May,  1810 — Independence  Day.  At  the  end  of  the  plaza 
towards  the  river,  and  opposite  the  Palacio  de  Gobierno,  is  an  eques- 
trian statue  of  the  national  hero,  General  Belgrano.  Around  the 
plaza  are  the  Palacio  de  Gobierno,  the  Palace  of  Justice,  the  Bolsa 
Comercial,  the  Colon  Theatre,  now  being  transformed  into  premises 
for  the  Banco  Nacional,  the  Cathedral,  the  Archbishop’s  Palace,  the 
Chamber  of  Congress,  and  various  arcades  and  houses  of  mean  aspect, 
destined  to  disappear  in  the  gradual  reconstruction  and  embellish- 
ment of  the  square.  The  finest  building  on  the  plaza  is  the  Palacio 
de  Gobierno,  flanked  by  the  Law  Courts  and  the  new  Post-office,  the 
latter  not  yet  occupied  for  business.  This  block,  designed  by  an 
Italian,  is  in  the  Italian  Renaissance  style.  The  fa9ade,  although  not 
uniform  and  not  harmonious  as  a whole,  contains  some  excellent  de- 
tails. The  end  fai^ade  facing  towards  the  Paseo  de  Julio  is  of  a style 
approaching  the  composite  Corinthian.  In  this  block,  called  the 
Casa  Rosada,  are  the  apartments  of  the  President  of  the  republic, 
which  have  been  recently  restored,  and  present  an  aspect  of  royal 
rather  than  of  republican  splendor.  Mosaic  pavements,  marble  col- 
umns, gilt  mouldings,  paintings  of  Cupids  and  mythological  subjects 
framed  in  garlands,  medallions,  and  arabesques  in  the  Pompeiian  taste, 
colored  glass,  gorgeous  curtains,  showy  furniture  — all  the  magnifi- 
cence that  money  can  buy,  and  all  the  profusion  of  ornamentation 
that  contemporary  Italian  genius  can  invent,  have  been  lavished  on 
every  inch  of  wall,  floor,  and  ceiling.  The  staircase,  entirely  of  mar- 
ble, is  of  fine  proportions  and  splendidly  over-decorated.  I may  add 
that  the  Argentines  venture  to  compare  it  with  the  staircase  of  the 
Paris  Opera.  The  Palacio  de  Gobierno  is  built  of  brick  faced  with 
stucco,  and  all  the  columns,  capitals,  and  ornaments  are  likewise  of 
stucco.  The  Bolsa  Co-mercial,  founded  in  1854,  and  recently  installed 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


285 


in  new  premises,  has  an  elegant  and  imposing  faqade  on  the  plaza. 
The  grand  hall  is  in  the  Corinthian  style,  surrounded  by  a gallery. 
The  ornamentation  is  simple  and  in  good  taste,  and  all  the  offices  and 
appurtenances  seem  to  be  convenient  and  commodious,  inasmuch  as 
more  than  one  thousand  persons  are  constantly  moving  about  at  ease 
within  the  precincts  of  the  Bolsa.  Only  the  brokers  and  the  mem- 
bers are  admitted  to  the  building,  the  entrances  of  which  are  guarded 
by  footmen  in  livery.  The  Bolsa  has  a second  entrance  in  the  Calle 
Piedad,  where  the  principal  banks  and  financial  establishments  are  sit- 
uated. From  twelve  to  one,  and  again  from  three  to  four  in  the  after- 
noon, the  Buenos  Ayres  Stock  Exchange  presents  a scene  of  anima- 
tion and  noise  that  few  of  the  exchanges  of  Europe  or  North 
America  can  surpass.  Transactions  of  all  kinds,  commercial,  indus- 
trial, financial,  and  speculative,  are  transacted,  but  the  chief  opera- 
tions are  in  gold. 

On  the  same  side  of  the  plaza  as  the  Bolsa  is  the  cathedral, 
founded  by  Juan  de  Garay  in  1580,  rebuilt  in  1752,  and  adorned  in 
this  century  by  General  Rosas  with  a heavy  classical  portico  of 
twelve  columns  supporting  a tympanum  on  which  is  a bass-relief  rep- 
resenting the  meeting  of  Joseph  and  his  brethren.  The  interior, 
spacious  and  lofty,  with  a cupola  130  feet  high  at  the  end,  is  divided 
into  three  naves  with  massive  columns.*  The  aspect  is  cold,  barei 
and  poverty-stricken.  It  is  to  be  feared  that  the  Argentines  do  not 
attach  very  much  importance  to  religion,  and  in  this  impression  I was 
confirmed  when  I saw  in  the  cathedral  the  ceremonies  and  procession 
of  the  Corpus  Christi.  The  robes  of  the  clergy,  the  candlesticks,  the 
banners,  and  all  the  ritual  accessories  were  of  the  cheapest  and  most 
paltry  description,  while  the  attendance  of  the  public  was  small  con- 
sidering the  size  of  the  city.  In  Buenos  Ayres  you  do  not  see  the 
same  manifestations  of  piety  and  respect  that  are  noticeable  in  Chili 
and  Peru.  The  Argentine  ladies  have  entirely  abandoned  the  use  of 
the  manta , which  in  Santiago  and  Lima  makes  all  women  equal  be- 
fore the  altar.  When  they  go  to  church  they  wear  Parisian  toilets, 


* The  dimensions  are  270  by  150  feet,  the  area  4500  square  yards,  and  the  capacity, 
18,000  persons.  It  is  the  sixth  in  this  respect,  the  order  of  holding  capacity  being:  St. 
Peter’s,  at  Rome ; St.  Paul’s,  London  ; Antwerp  Cathedral ; Saint  Sofia ; Notre  Dame,  at 
Paris ; and  then  the  cathedral  at  Buenos  Ayres.  Besides  the  cathedral,  there  are  twenty- 
three  Catholic  churches  and  four  Protestant  churches  in  Buenos  Ayres,  but  none  of  archi- 
tectural interest. 


286 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  cover  their  faces  with  rice-powder  and  veloutine.  The  men  rare- 
ly go  beyond  the  church  steps,  where  they  wait  to  compliment  or  in- 
sult the  ladies  as  they  pass  after  service  is  over. 

The  only  monument  of  merit  and  interest  inside  the  cathedral  is 
the  tomb  of  General  San  Martin,  placed  in  a side  chapel  or  rotunda 
annexed  to  the  building.  On  a pedestal  of  red  marble  stands  a black 
marble  urn,  surmounted  by  a mantle,  sword,  hat,  and  laurel  wreath  in 
bronze,  and  guarded  by  three  allegorical  marble  figures  of  the  Argen- 
tine, Chili,  and  Peru.  The  inscriptions  around  the  base  mention  the 
chief  dates  and  events  in  the  career  of  the  liberator  of  Spanish 
America,  and  on  the  wall  of  the  chapel  a slab  of  black  marble  pro- 
claims as  follows  in  gilt  letters: 


JOSE  DE  SAN  MARTIN. 

Guerrero  de  la  independence  Argentina. 

Libertador  de  Chile  y el  Peru 
NaCIO  EL  25  DE  FeBRERO  DE  1778  EN  YaPEYU. 

MuRIO  EL  17  DE  AgOSTO  DE  1850  EN 
Boulogne-sur-Mer. 

AQUI  YACE. 

This  fine  monument  was  subscribed  bv  the  Argentine  nation  in 
1877-80,  and  designed  and  executed  by  a French  sculptor,  the  late 
Carrier-Belleuse. 

The  remaining  monument  to  be  noticed  on  the  Plaza  de  la  Vic- 
toria is  the  Congress  Hall,  a miserable  little  place,  more  like  a cockpit 
than  the  legislative  palace  of  a great  republic.  This  fact  is  of  course 
admitted  by  the  Argentines,  who  intend  to  spend  $3,000,000  on  the 
construction  of  an  adequate  palace  for  the  senators  and  deputies  as 
soon  as  the  country  recovers  its  pristine  prosperity. 

In  the  streets  of  the  capital  there  are  few  public  buildings 
worthy  of  note.  The  churches  are  simple  and  ordinary,  and  the  only 
feature  that  imparts  a little  gayety  and  picturesqueness  to  their  mo- 
notonous stucco  silhouettes  is  the  blue,  rose,  and  white  Talavera  tiles, 
or  azulcjos , used  on  the  roofs  of  the  domes  and  towers.  The  old 
Spanish  custom-house  facing  the  river  is  noticeable  for  its  circular 
form,  and  because  it  is  the  only  monument  of  the  early  colonial  days 
that  the  city  possesses.  The  great  banks  are  all  lodged  in  large  and 
imposing  edifices  of  no  special  architectural  merits,  except,  perhaps, 
the  Banco  de  Carabassa,  which  is  a good  specimen  of  classical  modern 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


287 


Corinthian.  By  far  the  best  buildings  in  the  city  are  the  school- 
houses,  some  of  them  being  veritable  palaces,  as,  for  instance,  the  Es- 
cuela  Sarmiento  in  the  Calle  Callao,  the  Normal  School  in  the  Calle 
Cordoba,  the  Escuela  Graduada  de  Ninas  on  the  Plaza  General  La- 
valle,  and,  above  all,  the  Escuela  Petronila  Rodriguez,  occupied  by 


a pedagogic  museum 
and  the  offices  of  the 
Superior  Council  of 
Education.  The  in- 
terior of  this  building 


is  commonplace  and  escuela  petronila  rodriguez. 

badly  distributed,  but 

the  grand  fai^ade  and  the  end  entrance  are  very  fine  specimens  of 
German  Renaissance  architecture  enriched  with  caryatides  and  orna- 
ments of  the  usual  cement  and  imitation  stone,  which  cracks  and 
chips  even  in  the  clement  climate  of  Buenos  Ayres.  The  build- 
ing, however,  is  of  grand  proportions  and  imposing  aspect.  The 
Escuela  Petronila  Rodriguez  is  the  only  public  institution  of  any  kind 
that  I could  discover  in  Buenos  Ayres  founded  by  private  munifi- 
cence. It  was  built  with  a legacy  bequeathed  by  the  lady  whose  name 
the  establishment  bears.  The  singularity  of  the  case  is  very  eloquent, 
and  throws  floods  of  light  upon  the  benighted  political,  social,  and 
educational  condition  of  the  Argentines.  In  no  city,  except  in  some 
of  those  of  North  America,  have  more  or  larger  fortunes  been  made 
within  the  past  ten  years  than  in  Buenos  Ayres,  but  while  the  newly- 


288 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


enriched  citizens  of  the  northern  republic  endeavor  to  make  the  com- 
munity profit  by  their  wealth  in  the  foundation  and  endowment  of 
universities,  museums,  schools,  libraries,  picture-galleries,  places  of  rec- 
reation, and  works  of  public  and  permanent  utility,  the  Argentines 
systematically  ignore  their  fellow-citizens,  and  think  only  of  their  own 
material  enjoyment.  I say  “material,”  because  hitherto  the  Argen- 
tines have  figured  in  the  European  markets  only  as  purchasers  of  fine 
horses,  costly  jewelry,  and  objects  of  vulgar  luxury;  they  have  not  yet 
become  Venetian  enough  to  require  rare  and  beautiful  books,  or 
masterpieces  of  painting  and  sculpture.  A marked  evidence  of  the 
intellectual  destitution  of  the  Argentine  capital  is  the  dearth  of  libra- 
ries, reading-rooms,  and  intellectual  resorts  of  any  kind.  There  ap- 
pears to  be  only  one  lending  library,  and  that  is  of  small  avail  for  such 
a vast  city.  As  for  the  National  Public  Library,  it  is  frequented  only 
by  a scanty  number  of  students,  and  occupies  a poor  and  inadequate 
building  in  the  Calle  Peru,  adjoining  the  equally  poor  building  of  the 
university. 

To  return  to  the  question  of  public  buildings,  I should  pronounce 
the  Escuela  Petronila  Rodriguez  to  be  one  of  the  best  buildings  in 
Buenos  Ayres,  ranking  with  the  Palacio  de  Gobierno,  the  Bolsa,  and 
the  splendid  railway-station  of  the  Ferrocarril  del  Sur,  on  the  Plaza 
de  la  Constitucion,  which  in  itself  is  by  far  the  finest  station  on  the 
South  American  continent. 

Buenos  Ayres,  owing  to  the  symmetrical  rigidity  of  its  plan  and 
the  narrowness  of  the  streets,  is  close  and  insufficiently  provided  with 
open  spaces  and  promenades  — at  least,  in  the  old  city.  There  are 
seventeen  squares,  or  plazas,  planted  with  trees  and  provided  with 
benches  and  walks,  but  most  of  them  are  not  kept  in  good  order,  and 
not  much  frequented  by  the  public.  The  Paseo  de  Julio,  for  instance, 
although  pleasantly  laid  out,  is  abandoned  entirely  to  those  social  waifs 
whom  the  Argentines  call  atorrantes — foreigners  who  have  missed 
Fortune’s  coach,  and  sunk  lower  and  lower,  until  they  have  finally 
solved  the  problem  of  living  without  money,  without  a lodging,  and 
almost  without  clothes.  These  poor  and  dirty  creatures,  numbering 
altogether  perhaps  two  or  three  hundred,  sleep  in  water-pipes  that  are 
waiting  to  be  laid  down  by  the  interminable  Obras  de  Salubridad , in 
houses  in  course  of  construction,  or  on  the  benches  of  the  public 
squares.  The  Jardin  de  la  Recoleta,  charmingly  laid  out,  and  adorned 
with  a cascade  of  artificial  rock-work  that  cost  several  million  dollars, 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


289 


is  visited  by  few  except  foreigners.  The  plazas  that  bear  the  names 
of  San  Martin  and  Lavalle,  the  latter  adorned  with  a handsome 
marble  column  and  statue  of  its  patronymic  hero,  are  equally  deserted 
at  all  hours  of  the  day;  and  as  for  the  vast  Plaza  Victoria,  no  one 
would  think  of  going  there  to  take  the  air.  The  distant  Palermo,  or 
Parque  3 de  Febrero,  is  really  the  only  promenade  in  the  city  that  is 
regularly  frequented,  and  that,  too,  almost  exclusively  by  the  wealthy. 

The  repaving  and  adequate  draining  of  the  city  are  being  slowly 
executed  by  the  so-called  Obras  dc  Salubndad,  which  were  begun  some* 
years  ago,  and  are  likely  to  continue  for  many  years  to  come.  New 
diagonal  boulevards  are  also  being  cut  very  slowly  through  the  old 
city,  with  a view  to  relieving  the  traffic  now  so  crowded;  and  many 
great  and  costly  public  works  are  in  execution  or  in  project,  which, 
together  with  the  efforts  of  private  initiative,  will  contribute  to  make 
Buenos  Ayres  a truly  wonderful  and  splendid  city  in  some  eight  or 
ten  years.  For  the  moment,  the  city  is  still  rough,  patchy,  incom- 
plete, transitional, 
unattractive;  never- 
theless, one  cannot 


and  by  the  garment  of  splendor  and  luxury  which  it  is  gradually  put- 
ting on. 

The  works  of  the  construction  of  the  port  of  Buenos  Ayres,  called 
the  Puerto  Madero,  made  rapid  progress  during  the  six  months  within 
which  I had  opportunities  of  observing  them,  and  produced  consider- 
19 


fail  to  be  impressed 


THE  NEW  DOCKS 


290 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


able  modifications  in  what  we  may  call  the  river-front  of  the  city,  by 
the  abolition  of  the  old  passenger  mole  and  its  surrounding  fleet  of 
small  boats,  and  by  the  prohibition  of  all  washing  operations  along  the 
river-bank.  Up  to  the  spring  of  1890  the  passenger  mole  and  the 
groups  of  washer-women  at  work  around  the  muddy  pools  of  the  river- 
bank  from  Las  Catalinas  to  La  Boca  were  two  of  the  most  pictu- 
resque features  of  the  place.  Now,  happily  for  the  traveller  and  for 
the  population,  progress  has  triumphed.  Owing  to  the  shallowness  of 
the  sides  of  the  La  Plata  River,  and  the  shifting  sand-banks  which  its 
yellow  waters  are  perpetually  forming  and  reforming,  large  ships  have 
been  hitherto  unable  to  anchor  nearer  to  Buenos  Ayres  than  two  or 
more  miles.  The  great  transatlantic  steamers  anchor  at  a distance  of 
twelve  and  fourteen  miles  from  the  shore,  hence  the  great  cost,  and 
also  danger,  of  discharging  cargo  by  means  of  launches,  and  hence  the 
desire  of  the  Bonarenses  to  have  a port. 

The  works  now  being  carried  out  comprise  three  distinct  opera- 
tions : 

1.  The  reclaiming,  by  means  of  the  construction  of  a sea-wall,  of  a 
superficies  of  the  river-bed  more  than  a league  long,  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Riachuelo  to  beyond  Catalinas,  the  whole  width  of  the  front- 
age of  the  city,  and  with  a breadth  of  several  cuadras. 

2.  The  construction  in  the  longitudinal  axis  of  this  superficies  of 
four  large  docks,  flanked  at  the  extremities  by  two  basins,  or  darsenas , 
all  communicating  by  gates. 

3.  The  economical  part,  which  consists  in  the  sale  of  the  land  thus 
gained. 

At  present  Dock  No.  1 and  the  South  Darsena  are  open,  and  pro- 
vided with  fine  hydraulic  machinery,  immense  quays,  and  colossal 
depots ; the  southern  channel  has  been  dredged  to  a depth  of  twenty- 
one  feet  and  over  a distance  of  twenty  kilometres  across  the  bed  of 
the  La  Plata  River;  and  the  excavation  of  the  other  docks  and  the 
operations  of  filling  in  are  being  actively  continued.  In  four  or  five 
years  the  whole  system  of  docks  and  channels  will  be  completed,  at  an 
estimated  cost  of  twenty  million  piastres,  and  the  city  will  have  a new 
artificial  river-fa9ade  more  than  five  kilometres  long. 

Meanwhile  the  Riachuelo,  canalized  over  an  extension  of  more 
than  fifteen  cuadras , continues  to  form  the  really  busy  port  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  the  parts  of  the  city  along  this  river,  called  La  Boca  and 
Barracas,  resemble  a forest  of  masts  and  smoke-stacks,  so  thickly  are 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


291 


the  ships  crowded  together  along  the  interminable  quays,  wharves,  and 
warehouses.  La  Boca  is  inhabited  by  30,000  Neapolitans  and  other 
Italians,  who  are  extremely  industrious  and  frugal,  but  also  extremely 
regardless  of  comfort  and  cleanliness.  This  suburb  is  surrounded  by 
marshy  ground,  on  which  the  most  primitive  sheds  and  wooden  huts 
are  built  in  absolutely  unhygienic  conditions,  that  have  hitherto  made 
the  district  a nest  of  fever  and  other  maladies.  The  new  harbor 


LA  BOCA. 


works,  however,  have  improved  La  Boca  greatly  by  protecting  it  from 
inundations.  The  quays  of  La  Boca,  the  maze  of  shipping,  the  queer 
houses  of  the  boat-builders  and  wherry-men  who  live  on  the  island, 
the  habits  and  customs  of  the  coasting  and  river  sailors,  the  landing 
of  coal,  timber,  iron,  fruit,  all  help  to  make  a most  picturesque  and  ani- 
mated scene,  full  of  “ bits  ” that  would  tempt  the  painter  or  the  etcher. 

When  I arrived  for  the  first  time  in  Buenos  Ayres,  in  high  mid- 
summer, I was  not  surprised  to  find  social  life  and  public  amusements 
at  a stand-still.  The  heat  was  excessive.  The  people  of  wealth  and 
leisure  were  living  in  the  reclusion  of  their  country  houses  or  enjoy- 
ing sea  air  and  shooting  at  Mar  del  Plata,  the  Newport  or  Brighton 
of  the  Argentine  capital.  Even  the  business  men  were  to  be  found  at 
their  offices  only  for  half  an  hour  or  an  hour,  and  that,  too,  not  every 


2g2 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


day.  The  theatres  were  naturally  closed,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Jardin  Florida,  where  a second-rate  French  cafe-concert  troupe  was 
attracting  scanty  audiences;  the  Variedades,  where  there  was  a Span- 
ish comedy  company;  and  the  Politeama,  then  occupied  by  a circus. 
In  these  establishments  there  was  but  little  animation.  What  did  the 
inhabitants  do,  I asked,  when  the  day’s  work  was  over  ? How  did 
the  shopmen,  the  commercial  employes,  the  working-men,  the  popu- 
lace, pass  their  evenings?  What  distractions  did  the  city  offer?  A 
general  negative  was  the  only  answer  to  these  questions.  Buenos 
Ayres  is  without  amusements.  There  is  not  even  a band  of  music  to 
be  heard  on  any  of  the  different  plazas  of  the  city,  nor  is  there  a sin- 
gle cafe  where  one  can  sit  and  take  the  air  while  enjoying  the  specta- 
cle of  the  movement  of  the  street  or  the  view  over  the  river.  All  the 
cafes  are  well  closed  and  shut  off  from  the  outside  world.  The  plazas 
are  deserted.  There  is  no  special  promenade  where  people  go  to  see 
and  to  be  seen ; and  although  we  are  on  Latin  soil,  we  find  none  of 
those  thousand  nameless,  idle  charms  which  usually  concur  to  make 
Latin  cities  so  agreeable.  For  all  these  shortcomings  I was  ready 
to  make  allowance,  considering  the  season ; summer  is  a bad  time 
for  studying  capitals.  But  when  I returned  to  Buenos  Ayres,  in  the 
middle  of  May,  the  conditions  were  different.  With  the  first  whist- 
lings of  the  pampero,  society  had  returned  to  town.  Adiosito  abanico ! 
The  summer  heat  was  over,  and  the  cool  winter  weather  rendered  all 
the  usual  occupations  of  wealth  and  leisure  at  once  possible  and  obli- 
gatory. I was  therefore  not  a little  curious  to  see  la  elegancia  porteha 
in  the  exercise  of  its  functions,  and  to  acquire  some  notions  about  el 
gran  tono  Bonacrcnse , la  alia  sociedad  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  also  about 
society  which  is  not  “high,”  but  merely  ordinary. 

Buenos  Ayres  has  its  Bois  de  Boulogne  or  Rotten  Row  in  the 
Parque  3 de  Febrero,  situated  to  the  north  of  the  town,  and  close  to 
the  river.  On  our  way  to  this  rather  distant  park  we  have  an  oppor- 
tunity of  seeing  some  of  the  handsomest  modern  houses  in  the  capital, 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Calle  Juncal.  Avenida  de  la  Republica,  and 
Avenida  General  Alvear,  the  last  a fine  broad  and  long  road,  destined 
some  day  to  vie  with  the  Parisian  Avenue  du  Bois  de  Boulogne.  Few 
of  these  specimens  of  domestic  architecture  are  remarkable  for  good 
taste  or  originality ; the  models,  as  we  have  already  observed,  are  al- 
most invariably  borrowed  from  France,  and  adapted  to  Argentine 
needs  with  little  discernment.  One  millionaire  wants  a small  Pitti 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


293 


Palace  built;  another  prefers  the  Chateau  of  Blois;  a third  requires  a 
copy  of  a neat  Renaissance  villa  that  he  saw  in  the  Parc  Monceau  at 
Paris,  always  with  the  addition  of  a little  more  ornament ; and  as  there 
is  no  building  stone  in  the  Argentine,  caryatides,  capitals,  pillars,  bal- 
conies, cornices,  and  every  moulding  and  detail,  are  made  of  stucco  by 
ingenious  Italian  workmen,  who  build  up  remarkable  monuments  of 
insincerity  over  a simple  framework  of  brick  and  iron. 

The  Parque  3 de  Febrero,  commonly  known  as  Palermo,  is  prettily 
laid  out  and  covered  with  fine  trees  and  shrubs,  but,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  two  avenues — planted,  the  one  with  palm-trees,  the  other 
with  firs — where  the  daily  show  of  carriages  takes  place,  the  walks 
and  roads  are  not  kept  up  with  all  the  care  that  could  be  desired. 
The  two  avenues  in  question  are  marred  by  the  presence  down  the 
middle  of  a row  of  immense  and  ugly  posts  and  wires  for  the  electric 
light.  What  a strange  idea  to  light  up  a park  by  electricity!  How- 
ever, it  appears  that  in  the  summer  people  go  to  drive  in  the  park  as 
late  as  midnight.  In  the  winter  the  time  of  the  promenade  is  between 
four  and  six.  In  double  file  the  procession  of  carriages  moves  up  one 
side  and  down  the  other,  under  the  superintendence  of  mounted  po- 
licemen ; a few  horsemen  canter  in  the  intervening  space  between 
the  lines  of  carriages ; amazons  are  very  rare ; loungers  and  spectators 
on  the  sidewalk  are  also  rare.  There  is  really  little  to  distinguish  the 
promenade  of  Palermo  from  the  usual  dull  staring  match  which  all 
great  capitals  have  in  one  form  or  another.  Its  chief  characteristic  is 
a want  of  animation ; it  is  silent  and  funereal ; the  women  in  the  car- 
riages, mute  and  expressionless,  seem  fulfilling  a doleful  duty  as  they 
sit  in  their  coupes,  landaus,  or  victorias,  often  drawn  by  fine  Trakenen, 
English,  or  French  horses,  imported,  like  the  carriages,  at  great  ex- 
pense. The  latest  mania  among  the  rich  Argentine  is  to  have  fine  im- 
ported carriage-horses  and  handsome  carriages.  You  even  see  young 
“ bloods,”  marvellously  clad  in  putty-colored  or  cream  coats,  adorned 
with  broad  seams  and  buttons  as  large  as  a saucer,  perched  on  lofty 
English  dog-carts,  and  trying  to  drive  tandem.  In  short,  so  far  as  con- 
cerns horses  and  carriages,  Palermo  makes  an  excellent  display.  The 
coachmen,  however,  are  less  commendable,  and  generally  wanting  in 
style.  Often  they  wear  whiskers  and  mustaches,  look  lean  and 
buffeted  in  the  combat  of  life;  many  are  evidently  without  natural  vo- 
cation for  the  “ ribbons,”  and  doubtless  spend  most  of  their  time  in 
housework,  wielding  a broom  instead  of  a whip.  There  is  no  chic  in 


294 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


the  liveries,  the  only  noticeable  point  being  old-fashioned  Spanish 
capes  with  embroidered  epaulettes  worn  by  the  coachmen  of  some  of 
the  more  persistently  creole  families.  As  for  the  ladies,  you  see  many 
girls  of  striking  beauty,  but  very  few  mature  women  who  are  not  dis- 
figured by  excess  of  adipose  deposit,  and  both  young  and  old  abuse 
poudre  de  riz  and  veloutine.  The  costume  of  the  ladies  of  Buenos 
Ayres  is  entirely  a la  Parisienne;  their  only  ideal  and  dream  is  to  re- 
semble the  fashion  plates  that  are  sent  out 
from  Paris  together  with  ship  loads  of  cos- 
tumes and  hats  to  match.  This  phenome- 
non of  absence  of  character  is  one  that  the 
traveller  in  South  America  must  be  pre- 
pared to  remark  and  lament  constantly. 
In  vain  has  he  gone  forth  into  this  new 
world  with  his  literary  senses  sharpened, 
his  stock  of  epithets  in  convenient  order, 
his  batteries  of  metaphor 
and  simile  ready  to  point 
at  the  new  visions  of  ma- 
teriality which  he  expects 
to  find ; for,  behold,  it  is 
all  old,  all  a more  or  less 
successful  counterfeit  of 
Europe,  all  apishness  and 
a peu  pres. 

Still  to  the  north  of 
the  town  — the  one  near 
Palermo  and  the  other  at 
Belgrano  — are  two  pleas- 
ant race-courses,  the  Hip- 
podromo  Argentino  and 
the  Hippodromo  Nacional,  with  fine  and  picturesquely-situated  tracks 
and  tastefully-designed  tribunes.  On  one  or  the  other  course  there 
are  races  on  Sundays  and  fete-days  during  the  winter  months,  un- 
der the  direction  of  a jockey  club,  and  with  all  the  formalities  and 
apparatus  of  the  race  meetings  of  Europe.  The  Argentines  are 
becoming  great  buyers  of  European  racing  stock,  and  they  already 
have  their  stud-book  and  important  and  well-stocked  racing  stables. 
As  races  are  usually  a pretext  in  civilized  countries  for  gatherings  of 


PALERMO. 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


295 


elegance  and  fashion,  I went  to  the  meetings  at  Buenos  Ayres  on  sev- 
eral occasions,  but  my  observations  were  each  time  identical.  In  the 
tribune  of  the  members  of  the  Jockey  Club  I counted  about  a dozen 
ladies ; scattered  over  the  other  tribunes  and  on  the  lawn  might  be 
seen  about  the  same  number  of  cocottes ; the  rest  of  the  public  was 
composed  of  men  and  boys.  And  what  men!  How  coarse  and  brutal 
in  their  looks  and  manners ! How  gross  and  unclean  in  their  lan- 
guage, how  aggressively  vulgar,  how  utterly  lacking  in  refinement  of 
any  kind!  For  this  rough  horde  of  human  beings  the  only  interest 
that  the  races  offered  was  the  betting,  conducted  in  the  Argentine,  as 
in  Europe,  by  means  of  the  mutual  pool,  or  Pari  mutuel,  system.  On 
each  race  the  totals  amounted  to  fifty  and  sixty  thousand  dollars,  and 
the  moment  the  race  was  over  there  was  a roar  of  many  feet  and  a 
stampede  from  the  tribunes  to  the  paying  offices.  In  such  a rough 
crowd  as  this  there  is  no  place  for  honest  women.  For  that  matter  it 
appears  that,  thanks  to  their  lewd  tongues  and  to  their  shameless  want 
of  respect,  the  young  men  of  Buenos  Ayres,  whatever  may  be  their 
social  rank,  render  all  public  resorts  dangerous  for  their  own  mothers 
and  sisters.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  there  is  no  ladies’  tribune 
at  the  races,  and  no  ladies  among  the  general  public. 

In  continuation  of  my  studies  of  public  amusements  I visited  the 
two  principal  establishments,  or  canchas,  where  pelota , a sort  of  tennis, 
is  played.  This  game  was  introduced  into  the  Argentine  by  emi- 
grants from  the  Basque  provinces  of  Spain,  where  it  is  chiefly  played, 
and  has  now  become  the  great  popular  sport  of  the  republic — the 
Argentine  base-ball.  In  Buenos  Ayres  the  frontojies,  or  courts,  where 
the  game  is  played,  are  immense  places  with  lofty  walls,  surmounted 
by  wire  netting  on  two  sides,  and  on  the  other  two  sides  tiers  of  seats 
and  boxes  for  the  public.  The  walls  have  hard  and  smooth  faces; 
the  floor  of  the  court  is  even  and  level,  and  marked  into  compart, 
ments  by  black  lines.  On  the  end  wall  to  the  right  of  the  court  is 
the  pizarra,  or  marking  board.  The  players  at  Buenos  Ayres  are 
professionals,  invariably  Basques,  and  the  best  of  them  come  from 
Spain  for  the  Hispano- American  season,  like  tenors,  or  toreros , and 
with  engagements  at  equally  high  salaries.  Apart  from  the  celebrity 
of  the  artistes,  the  game  is  always  blue  against  red.  The  marking 
board  calls  the  players  l os  azules  and  /os  colorados ; they  wear  blue 
Basque  cloth  caps  and  red  caps ; their  jerseys  are  striped  blue  and 
white  and  red  and  white ; their  sashes  or  waistbands  are  blue  and  red 


296 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


respectively ; their  trousers  and  shoes  are  white.  The  pelotares  strike 
the  ball  not  with  the  bare  hand,  but  with  a cesta  made  of  osier  or 
wicker  work,  half  round,  sharply  curved  at  the  end,  and  measuring 
some  eighteen  inches  long.  A leather  glove  is  sewn  on  this  basket, 
scoop-like  racket,  and  receives  the  fingers  of  the  player’s  right  hand. 
The  game  is  played  with  two  men  on  each  side,  and  requires  extraor- 
dinary agility  and  endurance.  The  great  players  are  wonderful  to 
watch,  and  in  the  frenzy  of  its  enthusiastic  admiration  the  public 
throws  into  the  court  sovereigns,  ounces,  Chilian  condors,  and  all  the 
various  kinds  of  gold  coins  that  are  found  in  the  money-changers’ 
shops  in  Buenos  Ayres  — just  as  the  Madrid  public  throws  cigars 

and  purses  full  of 
money  to  a torero 
who  has  accom- 
plished a clever 
suerte  in  killing 
the  bull.  Mean- 
while, as  the  game 
proceeds,  after 
each  point  scored 
there  is  a roar  of 
voices  from  the 
tribunes : “ Veinte 
a cinco  doy!"  “ Ve- 
inte a dos  tomof' 
“ Cien  d cinco 
doy!"  It  is  the 
calling  out  of  the 
odds ; for,  as  at 
the  races  so  in 
the  tennis-courts, 
the  chief  object 
pelota  players.  of  the  public  is 

to  gamble.  The 
public  that  fre- 
quents the  frontones  is  as  mixed  and  rough  as  the  public  of  the  race- 
courses, and  to  a great  extent  the  same.  One  notices  also  a similar 
ferocity  on  the  part  of  the  spectators,  a hardness  of  expression  and  a 
brusqueness  of  gestures  and  manners  that  are  absolutely  painful. 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


297 


So  much  for  the  daylight  amusements — Palermo,  horse-racing,  and 
pelota.  Now  we  come  to  the  great  problem  of  passing  the  evening, 
and  durine  the  winter  season  a certain  number  of  theatres  contribute 

o 

towards  facilitating  its  solution.  Opera,  Politeama,  Nacional,  San 
Martin,  Doria,  Onrubia,  Variedades,  Pasatiempo,  Jardin  Florida,  are 
the  names.  The  Opera,  which  receives  a subvention  from  the  Gov- 
ernment, is  a large  theatre,  with  its  principal  fagade  in  the  Calle  Cor- 
rientes.  The  vestibule  is  spacious  and  draughty;  the  staircase  not 
without  pretensions  to  marmorean  magnificence ; the  foyer  a monu- 
ment of  bad  taste  and  over-decoration.  The  suite  of  rooms,  of  fine 
proportions,  is  furnished  with  a profusion  of  plush  curtains,  divans, 
and  silt-edsed  chairs ; the  walls  are  decorated  with  stucco  ornaments 
and  panels  framed  with  mouldings,  on  which  are  juxtaposed  the 
crudest  tones  of  red,  green,  blue,  and  yellow  that  the  Tuscan  stencil- 
painter  knows  how  to  mix;  and  the  whole  forms  a gaudy  and  ag- 
gressive eyesore.  The  house,  decorated  in  white  and  gold,  with  red 
hangings  and  upholstery  in  the  boxes,  is  large  and  fairly  commodious, 
except  that  there  are  no  means  of  heating  it,  and  as  the  winter  at 
Buenos  Ayres  is  becoming  colder  every  year,  both  public  and  artistes 
suffer.  The  same  inconvenience,  however,  exists  in  the  other  theatres 
and  in  all  the  old  private  houses  of  Buenos  Ayres  — there  are  no 
stoves  or  chimneys.  The  representations  at  the  Opera  are  as  good 
as  celebrated  and  expensive  singers  can  make  them ; the  repertory 
includes  all  the  hackneyed  successes  of  the  past  half-century — “ II 
Trovatore,”  “ Rigoletto,”  “ Carmen,”  “ La  Traviata,"  etc.;  and  the  favor- 
ite piece,  and  the  one  that  always  attracts  a full  house,  is  “Gli  Ugo- 
notti.”  The  public  of  the  Opera  is  perhaps  a little  over-dressed ; the 
display  of  jewelry  and  precious  stones  is  rather  too  dazzling ; the  ap- 
plause does  not  indicate  delicate  discrimination,  inasmuch  as  it  re- 
wards only  the  high  notes,  prolonged  screams,  and  stentorian  shouting 
of  the  singers.  The  critics  cannot  find  higher  praise  for  Tamagno 
than  to  celebrate  his  brazen  throat — his  garganta  de  cobre.  All  this  is 
somewhat  crude,  but  it  is  showy  and  expensive,  and  therefore  appeals 
to  the  instincts  of  the  rastacoiiere.  During  the  season  of  1890,  with 
gold  averaging  230,  the  price  of  an  orchestra  stall  at  the  Opera  of 
Buenos  Ayres  was  $25  paper,  and  there  were  four  performances  a week. 

The  Politeama,  also  in  the  Calle  Corrientes,  is  still  larger  than  the 
Opera.  It  is  a spacious  and  comfortable  house,  without  any  architect- 
ural pretensions  whatever.  In  the  vestibule  are  three  white  marble 


2gS 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


slabs  with  gilt  inscriptions  recording  the  visits  and  triumphs  of  Rossi, 
Adelina  Patti,  and  Coquelin.  During  my  stay  in  the  Argentine  cap- 
ital Coquelin  made  his  second  visit,  accompanied  by  Mesdames  Judic, 
Barety,  Lender,  and  an  excellent  company,  and  on  several  occasions  I 
had  the  pleasure  of  applauding  these  admirable  artistes,  who  were 
playing  to  half -empty  benches.  Doubtless  the  financial  crisis  ac- 
counted to  some  extent  for  this  neglect ; but  the  chief  reason,  I am 
afraid,  was  that  the  pieces  and  the  actors  were  too  good  for  the  pub- 
lic. The  literary  culture  of  Buenos  Ayres  is  not  yet  sufficiently  de- 
veloped to  appreciate  the  delicacy  of  Feuillet,  the  exquisite  refine- 
ment of  Marivaux,  or  even  the  quintessential  Parisianism  of  “La 
Femme  a Papa.”  It  may  be  added  that  the  price  for  a stall  for  these 
performances  was  $10  paper. 

The  other  theatres  call  for  no  special  notice;  at  the  Jardin  Florida 
I found  an  Italian  dramatic  company,  at  the  San  Martin  an  Italian 
comedy  and  operetta  troupe,  at  the  Nacional,  Doria,  and  Onrubia, 
Spanish  zarzuela  or  comic  opera  companies,  all  of  passable  merit.  It 
may  be  mentioned  here  that  at  the  Opera  and  all  the  other  theatres  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  of  South  America  in  general,  one  of  the  galleries 
is  reserved  for  ladies  only,  and  is  called  the  cazuela.  This  gallery  has 
a separate  and  special  entrance,  and  seems  to  be  highly  appreciated 
by  the  fair  sex.  No  toilet  is  necessary  for  the  cazuela , even  at  the 
Opera,  and  when  once  they  have  passed  the  door,  either  alone  or  under 
the  escort  of  husbands  or  brothers,  the  ladies  are  entirely  among 
themselves  and  free  from  all  intruders.  Unfortunately,  it  is  not  always 
possible  for  them  to  enter  unscathed ; the  young  men  of  Buenos  Ayres 
crowd  round  the  door  and  make  remarks  that  are  rarely  free  from 
obscenity,  either  in  word  or  intention.  Constantly  you  read  para- 
graphs in  the  newspapers  protesting  against  this  disgraceful  conduct, 
and  yet  the  nuisance  continues;  indeed,  it  is  almost  one  of  the  institu- 
tions of  the  city,  and  an  outcome  of  that  vida  de  confiteria  y de  vereda , 
about  which  we  shall  have  to  speak  later.  These  terrible  young  men 
form  the  exclusive  patrons  of  the  Pasatiempo  and  also  of  the  Varie- 
dades,  which,  although  a regular  theatre,  corresponds,  so  far  as  its  pub- 
lic and  its  social  functions  are  concerned,  to  the  Folies  Bergere  at 
Paris.  With  these  establishments  we  need  not  concern  ourselves 
further,  except  it  be  to  add  that  the  young  men  of  Buenos  Ayres 
when  they  are  “ out  ” wish  all  the  world  to  remark  the  fact,  and  take 
every  means  of  making  themselves  conspicuous. 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


299 


We  may  note  also,  en  passant , the  fearful  crushing,  pushing,  and 
elbowing  that  take  place  around  the  ticket -office  of  the  ordinary 
theatre,  each  one  fighting  for  himself  under  the  eyes  of  a useless 
policeman.  The  establishment  of  a queue  would  be  a simple  means 
of  putting  an  end  to  this  scandalous  roughness. 

Now  let  us  come  to  the  great  and  constant  distraction  of  the 
young  men,  the  dandies,  the  zambullidores , of  the  Argentine  capital, 
their  daily  occupation  year  after  year  between  the  hours  of  five  and 
ten  p.m.,  namely,  standing  on  the  sidewalk  of  the  Calle  Florida  and 
making  remarks  on  the  women  that  pass.  The  Calle  Florida  is  the 
most  fashionable  street  in  Buenos  Ayres.  Here  are  the  finest  shops 
for  the  sale  of  objects  of  luxury  ; the  “ swell  ” jewellers,  milliners,  dress- 
makers, tailors,  hatters,  shoemakers;  the  fashionable  restaurants,  Mer- 
cer, Rotisserie  Fran5aise,  Sportsman ; and,  above  all,  the  crack  Con- 
fiteria  del  Aguila.  A conjiteria,  it  must  be  explained,  is  a shop  for 
the  sale  of  bonbons,  confectionery,  sweetmeats,  and  refreshments,  and 
at  the  same  time  a sort  of  cafe  and  bar-room  where  all  kinds  of  drinks 
and  liqueurs  may  be  obtained ; it  is  the  Argentine  equivalent  of  the 
French  cafe.  Such  shops  abound  in  Buenos  Ayres;  there  is  hardly 
a block  in  the  city  that  has  not  its  conjiteria.  The  one  in  the  Calle 
Florida  bearing  the  name  of  del  Aguila  has  a fa<;ade  of  white  marble, 
surmounted  by  an  eagle  and  two  allegorical  figures,  and  its  windows 
form  recesses  along  the  sidewalk  capable  of  accomodating  each  half  a 
dozen  dandies.  The  door-ways  of  the  conjiteria  can  also  accommo- 
date a considerable  number,  and  those  who  find  no  room  at  the 
Aguila,  straggle  along  the  street  and  seek  shelter  in  other  door-steps, 
for  it  must  be  added  that  the  Calle  Florida  is  an  old-fashioned  nar- 
row street,  and  that  the  sidewalk  will  only  permit  two  persons  to  walk 
abreast ; hence  the  necessity  for  the  dandies  of  finding  recesses  where 
they  can  stand  without  impeding  the  circulation  and  incurring  the 
wrath  of  the  police.  And  so  here  they  congregate,  the  rich  young 
creoles  who  pass  their  days  gambling  at  the  Club  del  Progreso,  and 
the  hard-worked  counter-jumper,  the  dude  who  has  dined  at  the  Cafe 
de  Paris  and  the  dude  who  has  dined  at  a tenth-rate  Italian  “ hash 
mill ;”  both  are  armed  with  cigarettes  and  toothpicks,  both  wear  stu- 
pendous light-colored  cravats  and  enormous  diamond  pins,  and  both 
are  well-dressed  and  prodigal  of  immaculate  shirt  fronts.  They  stand 
and  they  smoke ; they  address  each  other  with  the  word  che,  of  uni- 
versal use  throughout  the  Argentine  in  the  signification  of  “man;” 


300  THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 

they  converse  in  husky  or  guttural  tones,  pronouncing  the  words  with 
monotonous  precipitation  ; and  whenever  a woman  passes  they  look 
at  her  and  say:  “ Hermosa  rubia  /”  (Beautiful  blonde!);  “ Que  cabccita 
tan  linda  /”  (What  a pretty  little  head!);  “ Que  boca  tan  adorable /” 
(What  a lovely  mouth!);  and  other  insipid  or  indecent  words.  That 
is  all.  They  stand  ; they  smoke  ; they  make  their  silly  observations  ; 
and  at  ten  o’clock  they  disperse,  and  Florida,  like  the  other  streets  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  remains  empty  until  midnight,  when  the  people  return- 
ing from  the  theatre  give  it  a momentary  supplement  of  animation. 
There  is  a rush  for  the  last  horse-cars,  a clattering  of  the  hoofs  of 
Russian  trotters,  a banging  of  the  doors  of  elegant  coupes,  and  then 
once  more  all  is  silent  and  deserted ; the  bright  polished  tram-way 
rails  glisten  and  vanish  in  the  long  prospective  of  the  dark  and  nar- 
row streets ; and  with  the  moonlight  silvering  the  blue  and  white 
glazed  tiles  of  the  church  domes  and  towers,  and  forming  strong  con- 
trasts of  sheen  and  shadow  among  the  irregular  masses  of  the  houses 
and  shops,  Buenos  Ayres  becomes  for  the  moment  clothed  in  mystery 
and  charm,  and  resumes  that  tinge  of  Orientalism  which  suggests  it- 
self in  the  distant  views  of  the  town  from  the  river.  Such  is  sidewalk 
life  in  Buenos  Ayres,  or,  as  it  may  be  called  in  Spanish,  sidewalk  and 
candy-shop  life — la  vida  dc  confiteria  y dc  vereda . It  is  needless  to  add 
that  no  respectable  woman  can  walk  unmolested  along  the  Calle 
Florida  after  five  o’clock  in  the  afternoon. 

The  Club  del  Progreso  was  mentioned  above  as  the  fashionable 
resort  of  the  rich  dandies.  It  is,  indeed,  the  chief  native  club  in 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  has  more  than  twelve  hundred  members.  Other 
Argentine  clubs  are  the  Club  del  Plata,  Union  Argentina,  Oriental, 
and  the  Jockey.  The  foreigners  have  a general  Club  de  los  Resi- 
dentes  Estrangeros,  founded  in  1841,  whose  600  members  occupy 
commodious  and  almost  handsome  rooms  in  the  Calle  Rivadavia. 
The  members  are  foreign  residents  of  all  nationalities.  There  are 
also  French,  Spanish,  German,  and  Italian  social  clubs,  and  important 
and  rich  philanthropic  and  mutual  aid  societies  connected  with  each 
nationality.  The  English-speaking  residents  have  their  own  Kosmos 
Club  in  the  Calle  Cangallo,  in  rather  cold  and  bare  rooms.  The  Eng- 
lish also  have  a literary  society,  and  they  are  the  founders  and  almost 
exclusive  members  of  the  Buenos  Ayres  Rowing  Club,  which  has  a 
fine  boat-house  on  the  river  in  the  charming  suburb  of  Tigre.  The 
Argentine  clubs  are  all  used  for  interminable  gambling  operations 


AT  THE  CONFITERIA  DEL  AGUILA. 


THE  ARGENTINE  CAPITAL. 


303 


that  go  on  day  and  night,  while  their  social  function  is  fulfilled  by  the 
organizing  of  splendid  balls,  which  from  time  to  time  awaken  the 
aristocratic  creole  society  from  its  habitual  torpor. 

Cafes  such  as  exist  in  Paris  or  Venice  are  not  to  be  found  in 
Buenos  Ayres.  Out-door  life  does  not  seem  to  be  appreciated,  and  the 
facilities  that  cafes  offer  for  meditation  and  conversation  have  still  to 
be  realized  by  the  Argentines.  There  are  more  than  two  hundred  so- 
called  cafes  in  Buenos  Ayres,  but  although  some  of  them  occupy  situa- 
tions in  the  centre  of  the  city  where  the  rents  are  enormous,  not  one  of 
them  is  fitted  up  and  organized  in  a manner  worthy  of  the  wealth  and 
importance  of  the  city.  The  rooms  are  inadequate  and  inconvenient, 
the  service  execrable,  and  the  prices  dear.  Few  of  these  cafes  are 
without  billard  - tables  from  two  to  ten  in  number,  while  others  have 
twelve,  eighteen,  twenty-four,  and  even  forty.  Every  night,  from  seven 
to  midnight,  except  on  a few  of  the  hottest  days  in  summer,  these  vast 
and  bare  saloons  are  full  of  men  and  boys  smoking,  drinking,  and 
making  a noise ; and  in  the  barn-like  immensity  of  the  rooms  you  see  a 
score  of  billiard-tables  all  occupied,  balls  shooting  about  in  all  direc- 
tions, men  in  shirt  sleeves  brandishing  cues,  leaning  over  the  tables 
and  kicking  out  their  legs,  waiters  hurrying  to  and  fro,  people  going 
in  and  out — a veritable  pandemonium,  in  which  the  bewildered  eye 
ends  by  discovering  a multitude  of  comic  movements  and  attitudes. 

After  the  cafes  and  billiard-rooms,  there  remains  nothing  to  be 
mentioned  except  a few  bar-rooms,  other  cafes  of  lower  category,  the 
fondas  and  posadas  of  the  populace,  and  the  dram-shops  and  haunts 
of  intemperance  and  vice,  which  are  only  too  obtrusively  numerous  in 
Buenos  Ayres.  Thus  we  have  passed  in  brief  review  the  distractions 
of  the  Argentine  capital,  and  noted  the  places  of  high  and  low  degree 
where  amusement,  oblivion,  and  glimpses  of  the  ideal  are  to  be  ob- 
tained by  those  who  have  the  means  and  the  desire.  Alas,  it  is  but  a 
poor  programme.  How  often  have  I asked  young  business  men  in 
Buenos  Ayres  : What  do  you  do  for  distraction  ? What  amusement 
have  you  ? What  society  ? What  are  the  amenities  of  life  in  this  city  ? 
Where  do  you  pass  your  evenings?  The  answers  all  tended  to  the 
same  result.  There  are  no  amenities  of  life  in  Buenos  Ayres,  no  so- 
ciety, no  amusements  except  the  theatre,  which  is  expensive,  and  no 
distractions  except  gross  and  shameless  debauchery  that  thrives  flaunt- 
inglv  in  most  parts  of  the  city.  There  is  no  society,  because  the  ri- 
valry of  luxury  will  not  allow  families  to  arrange  fetes  unless  they  can 


304 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


do  so  on  a princely  scale,  to  give  a dinner-party  that  is  not  a gorgeous 
banquet,  or  to  receive  of  an  evening  without  the  accompaniment  of  a 
ball  or  grand  orchestra.  The  old  creole  families  live  entirely  among 
themselves,  after  the  usual  Spanish  style,  hating  and  despising  the 
gringo , or  foreigner,  who  works  and  grows  rich.  There  are  no  social 
leaders,  no  leaders  of  opinion  even,  no  eminent  citizens  whose  in- 
fluence and  efforts  might  create  centres  and  elements  of  decent  and 
healthy  distraction.  At  Buenos  Ayres  each  one  looks  out  for  himself, 
from  the  president  of  the  republic  down  to  the  howling  urchin  who 
sells  newspapers  and  tries  to  defraud  the  buyer  of  his  change.  The 
impression  that  the  city  and  its  sociological  phenomena  make  upon 
one  is  wholly  and  repeatedly  that  of  coarse  and  brutal  materialism. 
There  seems  to  be  no  poetry,  no  sentiment,  no  generosity  in  the  life  of 
its  citizens;  there  is  nothing  amiable  witty,  or  attractive  in  the  ex- 
terior aspect  of  men  and  of  things.  On  the  one  hand  you  see  the  race 
for  wealth  in  all  the  crudity  of  unscrupulous  speculation  and  cynical 
malversation  of  public  funds ; and  on  the  other  hand,  the  ostentatious 
display  of  wealth  in  the  grossest  manifestations  of  vulgar  luxury. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


BAHIA  BLANCA. 


LAS  ! I must  confess  that  of  all  the  lands  I have  visited,  the 


Argentine  is  the  most  anti-picturesque  and  the  most  monoto- 
nous, with  the  exception  always  of  the  mountainous  regions,  which  are 
still  to  a great  extent  inaccessible  to  ordinary  travellers,  and  much 
more  so  to  commercial  enterprise.  The  vast  territory  extending  from 
the  Pilcomayo  and  the  line  of  latitude  22°  south  down  to  Tierra  del 
Fuego — upward  of  2000  miles  long,  with  an  average  breadth  of  500 
miles,  and  with  a total  area*  of  1,200,000  square  miles— may  be  di- 
vided into  four  great  natural  sections:  the  Andine  region,  comprising 
the  provinces  of  Mendoza,  San  Juan,  Rioja,  Catamarca,  Tucuman, 
Salto,  and  Jujuy;  the  Pampas,  extending  from  the  Pilcomayo  on  the 
north  to  the  Rio  Negro  on  the  south,  and  including  the  Gran  Chaco, 
the  provinces  of  Santiago,  Santa  Fe,  Cordoba,  San  Luis,  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  the  Gobernacion  de  la  Pampa  ; Patagonia,  comprising  the 
three  Gobernaciones  of  the  Negro,  the  Chubut,  and  Santa  Cruz;  and 
the  Argentine  Mesopotamia,  between  the  rivers  Parana  and  Uruguay, 
including  the  provinces  of  Entre  Rios,  Corrientes,  and  Missiones. 

Patagonia  is  still  mainly  occupied  by  a fine  race  of  friendly  In- 
dians, whose  chief  business  is  hunting,  and  colonization  proceeds  but 
slowly.  The  Chubut  Valley,  where  there  is  a Welsh  colony,  is  much 
vaunted  by  persons  who  are  interested  in  the  sale  of  land  in  those 
parts,  but  at  present  there  is  little  trustworthy  evidence  to  be  ob- 
tained, owing  to  the  difficulty  of  travelling,  there  being  as  yet  no 
trunk-lines  south  of  Bahia  Blanca.  The  same  is  the  case  with  the  Rio 
Negro,  which,  however,  is  likely  to  be  eventually  opened  up  to  pastoral 
industry  by  the  building  of  the  projected  railway  between  the  rivers 

* Official  statistics  give  the  area  as  4,195,000  square  kilometres.  The  chief  of  the  Statis- 
tical Bureau,  Mr.  Latzina,  calculates  the  area  at  2,894,257  square  kilometres.  No  trigono- 
metrical survey  has  yet  been  made  nor  any  census  taken  of  the  actual  republic. 


20 


3°6 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


Colorado  and  Negro,  from  the  bay  and  port  of  San  Bias,  latitude  40° 
35'  south,  across  the  Andes  to  Valdivia,  in  Chili.  The  Andine  region 
is  at  present  thinly  populated.  The  development  of  agriculture  there 
is  dependent  upon  irrigation  works,  which  require  capital ; the  mineral 
wealth  cannot  be  utilized  for  the  want  of  means  of  cheap  transporta- 
tion. In  Tucuman  the  sugar  industry  has  acquired  a certain  develop- 
ment, but  is  not  increasing,  and  the  tendency  now  is  to  transport  the 
industry  to  the  more  accessible  banks  of  the  Parana  River.  Mean- 
while, in  the  Andine  region,  besides  agricultural  and  pastoral  enter- 
prises, the  surest  and  most  flourishing  industry  is  wine-growing.  Now 
we  come  to  the  pampa,  of  which  we  caught  a glimpse  in  the  journey 
from  Buenos  Ayres  to  Mendoza.  Another  more  important  section  of 
the  pampa  may  be  visited  by  means  of  the  various  lines  of  the  South- 
ern Railway  Company,  the  best-managed  enterprise  in  the  republic. 

The  station  of  the  Great  Southern  Railway,  on  the  Plaza  de  la 
Constitucion  at  Buenos  Ayres,  is  a vast  and  handsome  building  which 
will  bear  comparison  with  the  best  modern  railway  stations  in  Europe. 
The  monumental  marble  staircase  and  entrance  hall,  the  offices  of  the 
administration,  the  waiting-rooms,  and  the  arrival  and  departure  plat- 
forms, spanned  by  a tasteful  iron  roof,  are  all  as  fine  as  anything  of  the 
kind  in  the  Old  World.  The  adjoining  goods  station  and  depots  are 
of  enormous  extent,  and  during  the  season  form  the  great  wool  market 
of  Buenos  Ayres.  The  plan  and  distribution  of  the  various  services 
are  most  conveniently  arranged.  The  rolling  stock  of  the  Great 
Southern  Company  for  passenger  traffic  is,  like  the  station,  of  the  most 
modern  and  improved  description,  built  in  England;  the  ordinary  cars 
on  the  North  American  plan,  and  the  sleeping-cars  on  the  European 
system,  with  compartments  of  four  beds.  This  company  runs  also 
vestibule  trains  between  Buenos  Ayres  and  La  Plata,  and  these  cars, 
likewise  built  in  England,  are  fitted  up  with  the  greatest  luxury,  and 
provided  with  every  convenience  that  a traveller  can  desire.  I con- 
fess that  I was  agreeably  surprised  to  find  such  an  admirably  appoint- 
ed railway  in  the  new  republic.  In  the  Old  World,  even  in  these  days 
of  international  expresses  and  through  trains  from  the  Bastille  to  the 
Sublime  Porte,  the  public  is  not  accustomed  to  such  splendor  as  the 
Buenos  Ayres  Great  Southern  Company  offers  to  the  nil  admiran 
Argentine  farmers. 

One  evening  in  May  I took  my  seat  in  a sleeping-car,  with  a ticket 
for  Bahia  Blanca.  The  track  is  sTfeet  gauge;  the  car,  broad  and 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


307 


commodious,  with  a table  in  the  middle ; the  fittings  in  excellent  taste ; 
the  walls  and  roof  of  natural  woods  ornamented  with  carved  panels, 
and  with  a profusion  of  mirrors.  The  Argentines  delight  in  looking- 
glasses,  and  demand  them  both  in  place  and  out  of  place.  With  the 
exception  of  this  one  point,  the  decorations  of  the  sleeping-cars  would 
delight  the  heart  of  William  Morris.  Another  detail  which  I noticed 
on  closer  inspection  was  the  absence  of  blinds  or  curtains,  and  the 
explanation  of  this  phenomenon  was  given  to  me  subsequently  by  the 
manager:  “The  public  would  steal  anything  loose.”  A similar  rea- 
son for  a similar  fact  was  given  to  me  in  Chili,  and  also  a few  years 
ago  on  the  line  from  the  Piraeus  to  Athens,  where  the  cars  are  like- 
wise without  curtains.  Que  voulez-vous  ? Man  is  not  perfect. 

The  express  started  at  7.30  p.m.,  and  in  the  bright  moonlight  we 
caught  glimpses  of  the  warehouses  and  shipping  of  Barracas,  and  then 
of  several  pleasant  little  towns  in  the  vicinity  of  the  capital,  dairy 
farms,  market  gardens,  and  villas  dotted  along  the  line.  Soon  we 
enter  a region  of  corn  fields,  and  farther  on  the  sheep  farms  become 
visible,  the  flocks  gathered  in  black  patches  on  either  side  of  the  line. 
The  next  morning  we  wake  up  in  the  midst  of  the  interminable  mo- 
notony of  the  pampa.  The  horizon  appears  circular,  as  if  we  were  on 
the  sea;  not  a single  hillock  breaks  the  evenness  of  the  boundary  line; 
the  land  stretches  away  in  all  directions,  gray  and  green,  covered  with 
grass  of  varying  fineness,  sometimes  rough  with  thistles  and  tufts  of 
bunch  grass,  sometimes  smooth  and  velvety  like  a garden  lawn ; not 
a tree  is  to  be  seen ; the  only  objects  that  catch  the  eye  in  the  immen- 
sity of  blue  sky  and  grayish-green  plain  are  the  straight  lines  of  post 
and  wire -fencing,  herds  of  horses  and  horned  cattle,  flocks  of  sheep, 
flights  of  wild  ducks,  geese,  swans,  crows,  tero-tero — a bird  which  re- 
sembles the  plover — partridges,  deer,  and  ostriches.  In  the  air  you 
see  hawks  soaring,  and  occasionally  an  eagle  or  an  owl  perched  on 
the  telegraph  pole ; while  alongside  the  track,  at  intervals,  the  rotting 
carcass  of  a horse  or  cow,  killed  by  a passing  train,  or  a sinister  ara- 
besque of  bleached  bones,  picked  clean  and  lying  on  the  grass  as  the 
birds  of  prey  left  them,  evokes  visions  of  pain  and  slaughter.  From 
time  to  time  we  notice  groups  of  a few  box- like  huts  of  burned  brick 
scattered  over  the  ground,  and  in  the  vicinity  some  human  beings 
toiling.  This  is  a colony,  or  a centro  agricola.  Gradually  some  of 
these  colonies  grow  into  villages  or  little  towns,  and  then  they  are 
honored  with  a railway  station,  around  which  the  box-like  huts  are 


308 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


grouped  more  closely,  with,  conspicuous  among  them,  a general  store 
and  an  Italian  drinking-shop — the  Cafe  Fonda  Roma  or  the  Hotel  de 
Genova.  The  next  stage  in  the  growth  of  the  town  is  the  establish- 
ment of  a corralon , or  general  hardware  depot;  a mill  and  warehouses, 
or  barracas;  and  then  the  huge  bullock-carts  from  the  colonies  in  the 
interior  are  seen  arriving  in  long  caravans,  or  grouped  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  station.  These  immense  carts,  or  carretas,  built  in 
the  same  form  fore  and  aft,  and  nicely  balanced  on  their  enormous 
axles,  are  generally  driven  by  Basques,  and  throughout  the  Argentine 
they  precede  the  railways ; afterwards,  as  the  railways  extend  their 
course,  these  “ prairie  schooners  ” continue  to  run  as  local  feeders, 
groaning  and  grating  over  the  secular  ruts  and  swamps  which  are  by 
courtesy  alone  termed  roads.*  Such  places  are  Pigue  and  Tornquist, 
which  are  in  course  of  development  from  colonies  into  towns.  In  con- 
trast with  this  kind  of  settlement  must  be  noted  the  vast  estancias, t 
owned  by  private  individuals  or  companies,  such  as  the  Casey  Estan- 
cia,  or  Curumalan  Estate  of  ninety  square  leagues,  which  is  served  by 
three  stations,  and  traversed  by  the  Southern  Railway  over  a distance 
of  nearly  fifty  kilometres.  This  estancia  comprises  the  largest  stud 
farm  in  the  Argentine. 

Here  the  landscape  becomes  a little  less  monotonous,  thanks  to 
the  hills  of  the  Sierra  de  la  Ventana,  to  avoid  which  the  line  describes 
a curve,  and  finally,  after  crossing  the  Naposta  River,  arrives  at  Bahia 
Blanca  at  2.50  p.m.,  having  made  the  distance  of  444  miles  in  eighteen 
hours,  not  counting  the  long  stoppages. 

The  country  around  Bahia  Blanca  is  absolutely  flat.  The  envi- 
rons of  the  town  are  occupied  with  quintas  and  chacras ; that  is  to  say, 
small  holdings  devoted  to  careful  culture  of  vegetables,  lucern,  and 
vines.  The  grape  thrives  very  well  in  these  parts,  and  viticulture  will 

* The  first  carreta  was  built  in  Tucuman  more  than  three  hundred  years  ago,  for  sen-ice 
between  Buenos  Ayres,  Bolivia,  and  Peru,  Tucuman  being  the  nearest  point  where  good 
timber  was  to  be  obtained.  These  carts,  drawn  by  six  or  eight  yokes  of  oxen,  traced  the 
roads,  which  are  still  the  main  roads  of  the  republic,  and  the  original  model,  both  of  cart 
and  of  road,  has  been  faithfully  perpetuated. 

t I have  purposely  avoided  descriptions  of  life  on  the  South  American  estancias.  Pre- 
vious travellers  have  written  copiously  about  the  subject,  and  satiated  us  with  verbiage 
about  gauchos , rounding-up,  or  rodeo , branding,  sheep-shearing,  and  what  not.  The  inci- 
dents of  pastoral  life  are  more  or  less  the  same  all  over  the  world.  The  South  American 
%aucho  is  the  brother  of  the  Northern  cowboy,  and  from  the  point  of  view  of  picturesque- 
ness and  strongly  marked  character,  the  cowboy  is,  perhaps,  the  more  interesting  figure  of 
the  two. 


PRAlklE  SCHOONER. 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES.  3 1 I 

doubtless  become  in  time  one  of  the  important  industries  of  the 
southern. part  of  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres. 

The  town  of  Bahia  Blanca  is  incipient  and  unlovely.  There  is  a 
vast  and  neglected  plaza  surrounded  by  unpretentious  edifices — the 
church,  the  municipal  buildings,  the  police  station  and  barracks,  the 
houses  of  the  English,  Danish,  and  Spanish  consulates,  a few  large 
general  stores,  two  immense  cafes  and  billiard -rooms,  and  a dreadful 
Hotel  de  Londres.  The  streets  are  rather  swampy;  one  only  is  paved; 
and  altogether  it  is  as  dismal,  dull,  and  dirty  a place  as  one  could 
wish  to  see.  Its  greatness,  like  that  of  many  other  towns  marked  in 
big  letters  on  the  maps  of  the  Argentine,  is  mostly  on  paper  and  in 
the  future.  Near  the  railway  station  are  some  extensive  warehouses 
belonging  to  the  German  consul,  where  wool  is  baled  on  a large  scale, 
and  shipped  from  the  port  of  Bahia  Blanca,  distant  by  rail  five  kilo- 
metres from  the  town.  The  population  of  Bahia  Blanca  is  estimated 
at  13,000. 

The  port  is  approached  across  a desolate  marshy  waste,  terminat- 
ing in  mud-banks,  which  at  low-water  are  alive  with  small  crabs. 
There  is  a channel  formed  by  the  estuary  of  the  rivers  Naposta  and 
Sauce  Chico,  permitting  vessels  of  eighteen  feet  draught  to  go  up  to 
the  mole  which  has  been  built  by  the  Great  Southern  Railway  Com- 
pany, and  provided  with  fine  hydraulic  cranes  and  capstans  for  hand- 
ling cargo  and  shunting  trucks.  At  present  this  fine  mole,  which  may 
be  compared  with  the  Muelle  Fiscal  of  Valparaiso,  seems  somewhat 
in  advance  of  the  requirements  of  the  port;  for,  except  during  the  wool 
season,  the  ships  that  discharge  railway  iron  and  coal  at  Bahia  Blanca 
have  to  leave  with  ballast.  Like  all  new  ports,  too,  that  of  Bahia  has 
a bad  reputation,  because  it  has  been  used  by  unscrupulous  ship- 
owners for  the  purpose  of  wrecking  old  vessels  and  pocketing  the  in- 
surance money.  Enthusiasts,  however,  maintain  that  the  port  has  a 
great  future.  There  is  a scheme  for  building  docks  and  quays  along 
the  mud -banks,  where  a few  miserable  wooden  huts  may  now  be  seen, 
and  two  lines  of  railway  are  in  construction  or  in  project,  which  would 
certainly  have  a great  influence  on  the  development  of  the  place. 
One  of  these  lines  is  Bustamante’s  concession  from  Buenos  Ayres 
to  Talcahuano  via  Carhue,  General  Atcha,  the  Antuco  Pass,  and 
Yumbel;  and  the  other  is  the  Northwestern  Line  from  Bahia  Blanca, 
through  General  Atcha  to  Villa  Mercedes,  which  would  make  Bahia 
Blanca  the  natural  port  for  the  province  of  Mendoza.  Near  the  port 


312 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


of  Bahia  are  some 
important  salt- 
works, finely  equip- 
ped and  very  pro- 
ductive. 

Another  branch 
of  the  Great  South- 
ern Railway  runs 
from  Buenos  Ayres 
to  Tandil,  a dis- 
tance of  247  miles. 
This  town  of  1 1,000 
inhabitants  is  sit- 
uated in  the  midst 
of  picturesque  hills 
of  blue  granite, 
which  furnish  pav- 
ing stones  for  the 
capital,  and  for  other  towns  that  are 
rich  enough  to  buy  this  luxury.  On 
one  of  these  hills  is  the  famous  rock- 
ing stone,  so  nicely  poised  that  it 
will  crack  a nut.  From  Tandil  the 
line  goes  to  Tres  Arroyos,  1 20  miles, 
which  will  shortly  be  connected  by 
an  extension  with  Bahia  Blanca. 

Another  branch  runs  from  Maipu 
to  Mar  del  Plata,  the  Newport  of  Buenos  Ayres,  a fashionable  water- 
ing-place which  successful  speculation  has  brought  into  existence  and 
prosperity  since  1887,  and  which  already  boasts  casinos  and  hotels 
of  the  most  luxurious  and  completely  civilized  description.  All  the 
country  traversed  by  the  above  railway  lines  is  devoted  to  pastoral 
and  agricultural  industries,  and  the  landscape,  with  the  exception  of 
the  hilly  district  of  the  Sierra  de  Tandil  and  the  Sierra  de  la  Ven- 
tana,  is  always  the  same — bare  pampa,  with  stretches  of  marshes  and 
small  lakes  abounding  in  wild  fowl.  As  for  the  estancias , towns,  vil- 
lages, and  colonies,  when  you  have  seen  one  you  have  seen  all,  and  all 
are  equally  unpicturesque.  The  life,  too,  has  become  less  fertile  in 
picturesque  incidents  since  the  enclosure  of  the  land  with  wire  fences, 


r~r 


BAHIA  BLANCA,  NEW  MOLE. 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


313 


which  makes  the  management  of  the  herds  much  simpler,  and  enables 
the  estancieros  to  dispense  with  the  guard  of  mounted  ganchos,  who 
are  now  to  be  seen  only  in  the  very  distant  interior.  At  present  the 
majority  of  the  population  has  no  particular  character,  being  com- 
posed of  Italian  and  French  emigrants;  of  Basques,  with  red  or  blue 
cloth  caps ; and  a few  native  gauchos,  with  broad  belts  constellated  with 
silver  coins,  long  ponchos , and  wide  Oriental  trousers  like  petticoats, 
generally  black,  but  sometimes  striped  with  brilliant  colors.  Now- 
adays, however,  the  gaucho  is  losing  his  individuality,  abandoning  his 
peculiar  costume,  and  becoming  assimilated  in  dress  and  habits  with 
the  swarms  of  miscellaneous  Europeans  who  have  peopled  the  modern 
Argentine,  and  made  the  hundreds  of  colonies  and  towns  that  have 
sprung  into  existence  within  the  past  ten  years.  To  visit  these  young 
centres  of  so-called  civilization  is  no  pleasant  task. 

In  a new  country  the  traveller  must  not  be  particular,  much  less 
exacting;  above  all,  he  must  not  ex- 
pect to  find  refinement  among  the  in- 
habitants, whose  whole  efforts  barely 
suffice  to  sustain  the  combat  against 

O 

the  elements.  Still,  I cannot  refrain 
from  noting  the  impression  of  sad- 
ness and  disgust  produced 
by  the  sisdit  of  the  towns 
and  colonies  of  the  pampa, 
and  by  a glimpse  of  the  life 
that  the  inhabitants  lead. 

Verily  the  majority  live 
worse  than  brutes,  for  they 
have  not  even  the  cleanly 
instincts  of  the  beasts  of 
the  field.  Their  houses 
are  less  agreeable  to  the 


ROCKING  STONE,  TANDIL. 


eye  than  an  Esquimau’s  hut.  The  way  they  maltreat  their  ani- 
mals is  sickening  to  behold.  Rarely  do  you  see  the  face  of  a 

man,  woman,  or  child  that  does  not  wear  a bestial  and  ferocious 
expression.  In  the  villages  there  are  no  clubs,  no  libraries,  no  church- 
es, no  priests,  rarely  even  a school.  The  men  and  women  work, 
eat,  and  sleep,  and  their  only  distraction  is  the  grossest  bestiality,  gam- 
bling, and  drinking  in  the  pulpcna , with  occasionally  a little  knifing 


314 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  revolver -firing.  During  my  whole  stay  in  the  Argentine,  and 
in  all  the  centres  that  I visited,  I was  struck  by  the  utter  absence  of 

moral  restraint,  and  by  the  hard 
materiality  of  the  faces  of  the  peo- 
ple, from  the  highest  down  to  the 
lowest.  Never  in  the  vilest  slums  of 
London,  Paris,  Antwerp,  or  in  the 
most  miserable  villages  of  Bulgaria, 


GAUCHOS. 


have  I seen  more  complete  moral  destitution  and  more  abominable 
and  stupid  brutishness  than  I saw  in  the  town  of  Buenos  Ayres  itself, 
and  in  some  of  the  small  towns  and  colonies  of  the  pampa  and  of  the 
provinces  on  the  banks  of  the  Parana.  “ It  is  bad;  it  is  tough;  it  is 
rank,”  said  an  American  traveller  who  is  familiar  with  the  agricultural 
colonies  of  the  Argentine,  speaking  to  me  of  some  of  the  places  re- 
ferred to;  “ but  we’ve  got  just  as  rank  spots  in  Dakota  and  Texas.” 
This  may  be  true  enough.  In  Europe,  too,  we  might  easily  find  many 
districts  where  men  and  women  live  like  brute  beasts ; but  close  at 
hand  we  should  find  the  example  of  better  things,  the  effort  of  propa- 
ganda, the  restraining  influence  of  practical  morality  and  of  self-respect- 
ing citizenship.  The  same  is  the  case  in  a still  more  intense  degree 
in  the  United  States,  where  moral  and  intellectual  improvement  are 
always  uppermost  in  the  thoughts  and  works  of  innumerable  patriotic 
citizens.  In  the  Argentine  one  remarks  general  indifference  to  such 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


3>5 


matters ; the  new  towns  are  not  eager  to  get  a church  built,  or  to  sub- 
scribe to  pay  for  a priest ; the  local  missionary  spirit  is  absolutely 
wanting;  neither  in  the  capital  nor  in  the  smallest  village  do  the  most 
prominent  citizens  concern  themselves  about  setting  a good  moral  ex- 
ample; in  short,  there  is  no  restraint  whatever,  whether  of  persons  or 
of  communities. 


THE  CITY  LA  PLATA. 

Every  visitor  to  the  Argentine  Republic  is  particularly  recom- 
mended to  go  and  see  the  new  town  of  La  Plata.  It  is  one  of 
the  wonders  of  the  world,  he  is  told ; a city  of  palaces,  not  yet  ten 
years  old,  and  already  having  a population  of  60,000  inhabitants. 
Naturally  one  accepts  the  advice,  and  after  a scramble  for  a ticket  at 
the  Central  Station,  and  another  scramble  for  a seat  in  the  train,  one 
starts  full  of  expectation.  The  railway  passes  through  the  Boca  and 
Barracas — the  port  of  Buenos  Ayres  awaiting  the  completion  of  the 
new  docks  — past  regions  of  marshy  and  desolate  neglect,  where  hu- 
man beings  live  in  wooden  sheds  and  huts,  and  divide  their  life  be- 
tween labor  and  misery ; past  Ouilmes,  a neatly  laid  out  town,  with 
villas  and  gardens  in  the  environs ; and  so,  after  a ride  of  an  hour  and 
a half  across  flat  and  uninteresting  country,  we  arrive  in  the  monu- 
mental railway  station  of  La  Plata,  the  new  capital  of  the  province  of 
Buenos  Ayres.  The  station  is  a vast  pile  of  immaculately  white 
stucco.  We  admire,  marvel,  and  pass.  We  breakfast  at  the  Cafe  de 
Paris,  a gorgeous  and  brand-new  hotel,  with  an.  immense  dining-room, 
whose  walls  are  adorned  with  a superabundance  of  mirrors  and  stucco 
ornaments,  while  the  elaborately  painted  ceiling  is  supported  by  col- 
umns of  simile-marble.  We  admire,  marvel,  and  lunch.  Then  we 
issue  forth  to  see  the  town,  which  is  laid  out  in  squares  and  in  stars, 
with  broad  streets,  wide  avenues,  immense  boulevards  lined  with  tall 
telegraph  poles  and  still  taller  masts  for  electric  lights,  traversed  by 
innumerable  tram-way  lines,  and  bordered  with  palaces  all  brand-new, 
radiant  with  spotless  stucco,  and  manifesting  the  most  eclectic  taste 
on  the  part  of  the  architects.  Each  palace  with  its  garden  occupies  a 
hectare  of  ground,  and  each  is  of  different  design — Italian  Renais- 
sance, Corinthian,  Doric,  and  composite — of  a diversity  enough  to  be- 
wilder even  a Vitruvius:  palace  of  the  Government  of  the  Province, 


3*6 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


ministries  of  Public  Instruction,  Interior,  and  Finance,  Banco  de  la 
Provincia,  Banco  Hipotecario,  Prefecture  of  Police,  Direction  of  Pub- 
lic Works,  Direccion  General  de  Escuelas,  Chamber  of  Deputies, 
Senate,  Courts  of  Justice,  a theatre,  an  observatory,  a museum,  a Gov- 
ernor's palace,  a monumental  entrance  to  nothing,  a sort  of  triple  arch 
of  triumph,  beyond  which  is  a funereal -looking  plantation  of  tall 


THE  GOVERNMENT  BUILDING. 


eucalyptus-trees,  destined  to  be  some  day  the  Bois  de  Boulogne  or  the 
Palermo  of  La  Plata.  There  are  houses,  too,  many  of  them  unoccu- 
pied ; shops  that  look  deserted,  a big  market,  twenty-three  squares  and 
plazas,  countless  monuments  and  fountains,  and  a cathedral  of  enor- 
mous proportions,  whose  walls  have  absorbed  millions  of  bricks,  al- 
though they  rise  only  about  three  metres  from  the  ground.  The 
cathedral  is  the  only  building  in  La  Plata  that  has  remained  unfin- 
ished for  want  of  money.  All  the  others  are  completed,  and  full  of 
employes  and  officials  who  live  on  the  budget.  The  fire-brigade  like- 
wise has  its  palace,  and  its  corps  of  forty  men  in  uniform,  whose 
duties  are  a sinecure.  However,  La  Plata  being  a model  town,  every- 
thing must  be  modern,  the  newest  and  most  perfect  in  its  kind  that 
Europe  can  produce.  An  instance  occurred  while  I was  in  the  coun- 
try. News  had  arrived  from  Paris  that  there  were  fire-engines  ca- 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


317 


pable  of  serving  1000  litres  a minute.  The  La  Plata  fire-brigade 
must  have  one;  the  municipality  gave  the  order;  a Belgian  house 
furnished  the  pump,  and  the  new  toy  had  been  delivered  the  day  I 
happened  to  visit  La  Plata.  The  representative  of  the  Belgian  firm, 
whose  acquaintance  I afterwards  made,  informed  me  that  if  all  the 
water  laid  on  in  the  streets  of  La  Plata  could  be  concentrated  to  feed 
one  machine,  it  would  be  impossible  to  get  even  500  litres  a minute. 
“ That  is  the  way  things  are  done  in  La  Plata,”  he  added,  ironically. 

The  aspect  of  this  great  straggling  town,  each  street  of  which 
ends  brusquely  in  the  open  and  deserted  plain,  is  one  of  utter  deso- 
lation. It  possesses  everything  except  inhabitants  and  a raison  d'etre. 
As  for  the  official  figures  of  60,000,  they  are  as  misleading  as  many 
other  Argentine  statistics.  One  can  hardly  believe  that  there  are 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  UNFINISHED  PARK. 


even  40,000  inhabitants,  including  those  swarms  of  employes  who  go 
to  and  fro  by  train,  and  avoid  the  horror  of  an  evening  in  La  Plata  by 
living  in  Buenos  Ayres  or  the  more  agreeable  suburbs.  And  yet  at 
night  this  empty  city  of  palaces  is  brilliantly  illuminated  with  electric 
lamps.  The  tall  masts  and  glaring  globes  extend  far  into  the  sur- 


318 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


rounding  plain,  where  there  are  no  houses  and  scarcely  even  a sem- 
blance of  a road.  Why?  Why  indeed?  One  is  all  the  time  asking 
why  this  and  why  that,  as  one  wanders  about  the  streets  of  this  unin- 
telligible city  of  folly.  Why,  for  instance,  was  the  town  built  five 
miles  from  the  port,  which  was  projected  simultaneously,  and  inaugu- 
rated with  much  pomp  and  speechifying  in  March,  1890?  The  onlv 
explanation  that  has  been  suggested  is  that  the  promoters  of  the 
foundation  of  the  town  happened  to  own  land  on  the  spot  where  it 
has  been  built,  whereas  they  did  not  own  the  land  nearer  to  the  river. 
Another  more  charitable  explanation  is  that  the  object  was  to  leave 
abundance  of  room  for  the  future  development  of  the  town  concom- 
itantly with  that  of  the  port. 

This  port,  called  Ensenada,  is  situated  on  the  Rio  de  la  Plata, 
about  six  miles  from  the  town,  at  the  mouth  of  the  little  river  San- 
tiago. It  is  connected  with  the  town  by  means  of  a tram-way,  and 
with  Buenos  Ayres  and  the  great  trunk  lines  by  various  branch  rail- 
ways. The  ride  across  the  pampa  is  absolutely  without  interest ; the 
country  is  flat  and  treeless  after  we  have  passed  the  eucalyptus  wood 
and  the  museum,  and  nothing  strikes  the  eye  until,  at  a distance  of 
some  two  miles,  we  notice  the  masts  of  ships  apparently  in  the  midst 
of  meadows  where  cattle  are  grazing.  As  we  approach,  we  find  that 
these  small  sailing  craft  and  lighters  are  anchored  in  the  Dique,  a 
small  port  with  fine  new  wooden  quays,  a goods  depot,  and  two  or 
three  wooden  houses.  From  this  port  two  rectilinear  canals  run 
across  the  pampa  to  the  river.  The  road  follows  one  of  these  canals 
until  we  find  ourselves  in  a labyrinth  of  reeds,  wood,  huts  of  galvan- 
ized iron,  sheds  and  shanties  of  all  kinds,  piles  of  rails  and  iron  sleep- 
ers, mountains  of  bricks,  and  various  building  material.  In  this  maze 
we  finally  distinguish  various  canals.  One  of  these,  lined  with  fine 
quays,  fitted  with  hydraulic  cranes  on  one  side,  receives  sea -going 
ships  and  their  cargo,  while  the  opposite  bank  remains  verdant  and 
willow-clad,  and  in  the  background  is  a wooded  hillock,  against  which 
stand  out  the  strange  silhouettes  of  dredging  and  excavating  ma- 
chines, packed  close  together,  some  resting,  others  being  repaired 
after  their  labors.  At  a short  distance  we  see  an  interminable  line 
of  stone  pillars  and  iron  railings,  which  at  present  enclose  only  the 
promise  of  future  greatness,  and  then  beyond  we  reach  a magnificent 
and  immense  dock  surrounded  by  stone  quays.  But  where  is  the 
river  ? we  ask,  as  we  wander  along  the  quays  and  past  tall  piles  of 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES 


319 


SHIPPING  AT  LA  BOCA. 


warehouses  in  building.  The  port  seems  to  be  in  the  middle  of  a 
plain,  and  all  the  canals  and  natural  channels  appear  to  lead  only 
farther  inland  across  the  pampa.  At  last  we  discover  the  key  to 
the  mystery.  In  front  of  the  port  are  low  islands  which  entirely 
mask  the  view  of  the  river,  and  the  main  entrance  channel  passes 


320 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


between  two  flat,  green  vistas  that  remind  one  of  the  polders  of  Hol- 
land. 

At  present  all  this  seems  strange  and  almost  absurd,  but  experts 
affirm  that  the  port  of  La  Plata  is  excellent,  and,  at  all  events,  su- 
perior to  that  of  Buenos  Ayres.  The  seafaring  people  appear  to  be 
almost  unanimous  in  condemning  the  port  of  Buenos  Ayres  on  ac- 
count of  the  difficulty  and  danger  of  entering  it,  and  the  inadequate 
shelter  which  its  north  and  south  basins  will  afford  during:  certain 
prevalent  storm  winds.  Time,  however,  alone  can  show  whether  this 
mistrust  is  justified,  and  whether,  as  many  believe,  the  reclaiming  of 
land  is  the  principal  object  of  the  projectors  of  the  port  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  the  making  of  a good  harbor  only  a pretext  and  a second- 
ary condition.  In  any  case,  the  port  of  La  Plata  appears  to  be  a good 
one,  and  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  its  importance  will  in- 
crease rapidly.  The  adoption  of  the  port  of  La  Plata  by  several  of 
the  great  transatlantic  lines  of  steamers  is  announced  as  more  than 
probable.* 

The  port  of  La  Plata  has  been  made  from  the  plans  of  a Dutch 
engineer,  Mr.  T.  A.  YValdorp,  and  was  begun  in  1884.  The  entrance 
to  the  port  is  effected  by  means  of  an  outer  channel  4^  kilometres 
long  and  300  metres  broad,  formed  by  two  moles,  or  stockades,  built 
with  20,000  piles  and  300,000  cubic  metres  of  stone.  This  channel 
runs  out  into  the  deep  bed  of  the  river  La  Plata,  and  has  a central 


* In  the  South  American  Journal  of  December  20, 1890,  we  read  the  following  paragraph 
concerning  the  new  port  of  Buenos  Ayres  : 

“ ‘ The  mighty  and  fickle  Parana,’  says  the  Buenos  Ayres  Standard,  ‘ has  played  those 
interested  in  the  Madero  Port  a terrible  trick.  All  the  steamers  in  the  docks,  including  the 
giants  Stuttgart  and  Regina  Margherita,  are  aground,  and  several  in  the  outer  roads  also.’ 
Thus  the  very  contingency  apprehended  by  shipping  agents,  as  the  result  of  making  the 
entrance  of  large  steamers  into  the  docks  compulsory,  has  actually  occurred.  Our  contem- 
porary further  remarks  on  this  incident : 

“ ‘ The  delay  of  the  Regina  Margherita  in  getting  away  again  was  the  topic  of  conversa- 
tion in  shipping  circles,  and  the  agents  pointed  out  how  this  case  bears  out  their  views  as 
laid  before  Dr.  Lopez  when  they  requested  to  have  the  Compulsory  Entry  Decree  stayed, 
at  least  for  a time,  as  they  reasonably  argue  the  conditions  of  the  Boca  channel  are  any- 
thing but  a guarantee  of  safety  ; and,  much  as  they  would  appreciate  the  benefit  of  loading 
and  discharging  in  the  port,  they  are  too  much  alive  to  the  difficulty  and  delay  in  entering 
and  leaving  to  be  without  considerable  anxiety.  This  is  especially  the  case  with  regard  to 
mail  steamers,  with  fixed  dates  of  sailing,  the  altering  of  which  through  a change  in  the 
wind  must  cause  a world  of  confusion  ; as  a case  in  point,  the  steamship  Stuttgart,  drawing 
20  feet,  was  able  to  clear  to-day,  but  the  Regina  Margherita,  drawing  21  feet,  had  to  wait 
on,  and,  as  the  river  is  falling,  there  she  remains  with  over  six  hundred  passengers  on 
board.’  ” 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


321 


depth  of  7 metres.  After  this  channel  the  ships  pass  through  an  in- 
ner channel  composed  of  several  sections,  having  a total  length  of  3^ 
kilometres,  a width  of  from  180  to  150  metres,  and  a uniform  depth 
of  7 metres.  This  canal  leads  into  the  great  basin,  which  measures 
1500  metres  long  by  180  metres  broad,  and  is  provided  with  a turning 
basin  at  one  end,  measuring  250  by  220  metres.  On  each  side  of  the 
grand  basin  is  a lateral  canal  with  prolongations  that  enable  the  coast- 


SHIP-YARDS  AT  LA  BOCA. 


ing  schooners  to  go  comparatively  close  up  to  the  town,  and  unload  in 
the  Dique  already  mentioned.  These  immense  works  are  being  com- 
pleted with  all  the  necessary  hydraulic  machinery,  and  with  ware- 
houses and  sheds  of  gigantic  proportions,  and  the  total  cost  is  esti- 
mated at  $18,000,000  gold.  There  can  be  no  question  that  the  port 
of  La  Plata  is  a fine  piece  of  work  in  itself. 

As  for  the  town  of  palaces,  it  is  to  be  feared  that  it  must  remain  a 
curious  monument  of  provincial  extravagance.  The  creation  of  towns 
in  South  America  is  not  as  simple  and  logical  a matter  as  it  is  in  the 
United  States.  There  being  no  manufactures  employing  thousands 
of  operatives  and  enormous  mills,  there  is  no  need  of  industrial  towns. 
The  commercial  towns  spring  up  and  grow  to  greatness  at  the  points 

where  they  are  needed:  witness  Buenos  Ayres  and  Rosario.  Pastoral 

21 


322 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


towns  there  are  none,  since  the  pastoral  industry  does  not  even  need 
villages;  and  as  for  the  agricultural  industry,  it  finds  its  markets  along 
the  rivers  and  railway  lines.  In  the  new  economical  organization  of 
the  republic  the  commercial  and  agricultural  market  centres — which 
serve  as  feeders  to  the  great  ports — are  the  only  towns  whose  exist- 
ence has  a raison  d'etre , and  whose  creation  and  growth  can  be  nor- 
mal ; and  this  fact  accounts  for  the  actual  poverty  and  dulness  of  the 
thirteen  old  capitals  of  the  federated  provinces,  which  are  preserved 
from  silence  and  ruin  by  their  political  life  alone.  It  is  to  this  polit- 
ical industry,  the  monopoly  of  the  creoles  and  the  curse  of  the  repub- 
lic, that  La  Plata  owes  its  creation. 

In  1880  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres  was  proclaimed  the  national 
capital,  and  by  that  fact  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres  was  deprived 
of  its  federal  capital.  The  other  provinces  had  their  capitals,  founded 
by  the  will  of  the  conquistadorcs  in  the  sixteenth  century,  each  one 
with  its  plaza,  its  cathedral,  cabildo , Governor's  palace,  and  law  courts ; 
its  rectilinear  streets,  traced  in  the  midst  of  uninhabited  solitudes;  its 
belt  of  quintas  for  horticulture ; and  its  outer  zone  of  chacras  for  agri- 
culture— the  whole  constituting  an  autonomous  and  self-sufficing  com- 
munity, a State  within  a State.  The  history  of  the  life  of  each  of  these 
towns  during  the  first  centuries  of  its  existence  was  purely  animal  and 
vegetative.  Parana,  Santa  Fe,  Corrientes,  Santiago,  Mendoza,  Cordo- 
ba, Jujuy,  Catamarca,  San  Luis,  Tucuman  remained  mere  straggling 
villages,  as  several  of  them  still  are ; but  at  the  same  time  they  were, 
in  the  olden  days,  points  of  refuge  and  shelter  for  the  explorers  and 
conquerors  in  the  midst  of  the  desert,  starting-points  for  new  advent- 
ures, and  administrative  centres  for  the  settlers  and  workers  in  the 
environs — that  is  to  say,  for  the  subject  tribes  and  slaves.  Thus  these 
towns  acquired  prestige  and  importance,  and  their  inhabitants  were 
mainly  functionaries  and  parasites.  Up  to  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century  no  towns  existed  except  these  capitals.  They  were  the  only 
social  centres ; the  only  places  where  there  were  churches,  law  courts, 
and  authorities.  The  war  of  independence  started  by  Buenos  Ayres 
woke  these  sleepy  provincial  capitals  out  of  their  dream.  All  joined 
in  the  work  of  creating  the  federation  and  in  securing  the  national  au- 
tonomy, while  at  the  same  time  maintaining  their  own  autonomy. 
And  so  each  provincial  capital  continued  to  be  a capital,  and  each 
province  had  its  political  bodies  with  high-sounding  titles  vying  with 
those  Mven  to  the  rulers  of  the  nation  by  the  national  Constitution. 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


323 


Thus  these  capitals  continued  to  have  a political  raison  d'etre.  Of  all 
the  provinces  Buenos  Ayres  alone  was  ever  strong  enough  to  oppose 
the  authority  of  the  central  power;  but  at  all  times  a coalition  of  two 
or  three  States  could  inspire  alarm.  Nowadays  this  state  of  affairs  is 
at  an  end.  In  1880  the  question  of  the  unity  of  the  Argentine  was 
settled  definitively,  and  the  central  power  was  once  for  all  strongly 


THE  GOVERNOR’S  PALACE. 


and  surely  constituted  when  it  acquired  possession  of  the  vast  na- 
tional territories  of  the  Pampa,  Patagonia,  and  the  Chaco — which  will 
not  be  divided  into  provinces  for  years  to  come — and,  above  all,  when 
it  won  the  support  of  such  a powerful  capital  as  the  city  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  which  sacrificed  its  provincial  supremacy  for  the  benefit  of  the 
national  greatness. 

This  political  event  affected  the  relative,  and  also  the  absolute  im- 
portance of  all  the  confederated  States.  There  was  no  longer  any 
possibility  of  resisting  the  central  power,  and  no  longer  any  reason  for 
jealousy  towards  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres,  which  had  become  the  na- 
tional capital  and  neutral  ground.  The  whole  object  of  a politician, 
on  the  contrary,  must  henceforward  be  to  get  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and 


324 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


hold  a post  there  as  deputy  or  senator.  In  short,  as  M.  Emile  Dai- 
reaux  has  excellently  demonstrated  in  his  careful  study  of  the  Argen- 
tine political  institutions,  the  proclamation  of  Buenos  Ayres  as  the 
national  capital,  and  the  strengthening  of  the  central  power  by  this 
fact,  and  by  the  acquisition  of  vast  national  territories,  reduced  the 
provincial  capitals  to  mere  administrative  centres,  for  the  governors 
are  no  longer  anything  more  than  prefects,  their  ministers  sub-prefects 
and  secretaries,  and  the  provincial  Chambers  merely  departmental  or 
municipal  councils — all  in  the  hands  and  under  the  absolute  control 
of  the  executive  power.  Local  politics  no  longer  affect  the  march  of 
the  nation.  Provincial  life  no  longer  nourishes  ambition.  Society 
follows  the  politicians  to  the  capital.  Day  by  day  the  telegraph  and 
the  locomotive  are  completing  the  social  transformation,  and  day  by 
day  the  old  provincial  capitals,  instead  of  issuing  from  their  obscurity, 
are  sinking  into  more  and  more  complete  inactivity,  insomuch  that  if 
they  did  not  already  exist  there  would  certainly  be  no  motive  for 
creating  them  now.  The  reason  of  this  is  that,  with  the  exception  of 
those  situated  along  the  coast  or  in  favored  points  of  railway  traffic, 
none  of  them  corresponds  to  modern  needs.  The  railways  have  hith- 
erto gone  to  them  as  a necessary  terminus,  because  they  are  three 
centuries  old  and  have  the  prestige  of  capitals ; but  the  railways  have 
not  developed  a healthy  industry  in  any  of  them,  their  ancient  com- 
merce is  rarely  found  to  prosper,  their  old  local  political  life  is  dying 
out,  and  they  have  no  longer  any  raison  d'etre.  To  think  of  reviving 
in  this  nineteenth  century  the  antique  system  of  founding  cities  after 
the  manner  of  the  conquistadores  is  absurd.  Nowadays  the  site  of  a 
city  is  fixed  by  public  convenience  and  by  the  railway,  and  the  founda- 
tion begins  by  a simple  pulperia  while  the  line  is  being  built,  which 
becomes  the  Cafe  de  la  Estacion  when  the  line  is  finished ; and  from 
an  inn  for  travellers  and  a stopping-place  for  the  bullock  carts  and 
diligences,  it  gradually  develops  into  a town  surrounded  by  colonies 
that,  in  their  turn,  become  towns.  Nevertheless,  the  authorities  of  the 
province  of  Buenos  Ayres,  seeing  themselves  deprived  of  their  capital, 
conceived  the  strange  idea  of  founding  a new  capital  in  1882,  and 
instead  of  adopting  some  prosperous  young  centre,  like  Chivilcoy,  for 
instance,  they  determined  to  create  a new  and  splendid  town,  all  at 
once,  all  complete,  and  as  if  by  magic.  It  was  an  act  of  folly.  The 
amour  propre  of  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres,  after  having  given  its 
capital  to  the  republic,  could  not  resign  itself  to  the  humiliation  of 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


325 


having  no  provincial  capital  in  proportion  and  in  keeping  with  the 
wealth  of  the  most  populous  and  the  richest  State  of  the  confedera- 
tion. The  consequence  was  that  on  November  19,  1882,  the  first 
stone  of  La  Plata  was  laid.  On  November  19,  1885,  the  new  city 
had  26,637  inhabitants.  In  1887  the  population  was  estimated  at 
50,000,  and  in  1890  the  statistics  of  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
published  in  the  journal  La  Prensa , stated  that  the  new  city  had  be- 
tween 50,000  and  100,000  inhabitants,  including  all  the  prominent 
nationalities  of  the  earth,  but  with  a vast  majority  composed  in  about 
equal  proportions  of  Italians  and  Argentines.  These  figures,  how- 
ever, are  certainly  exaggerated. 

Meanwhile  the  foundation  of  La  Plata  and  its  magically  rapid 
construction  remain  one  of  the  most  curious  sociological  monstros- 
ities of  our  century.  As  for  the  future  of  the  town,  it  cannot  be  ei- 
ther industrial  or  commercial;  nor  can  it  become  a centre  of  political 
agitation,  because  the  political  life  of  the  province  is  still  concentrated 
in  the  national  capital  of  Buenos  Ayres.  Hitherto  there  has  been 
much  speculation  in  land  and  building,  but  the  crisis  has  brought  that 
to  an  end.  There  remains,  then,  but  one  destiny  for  La  Plata — name- 
ly, to  become  a city  of  functionaries ; but  the  functionaries,  as  we  have 
seen,  take  advantage  of  the  vestibule  train  of  the  Great  Southern 
Railway  and  avoid  residence.  Thus  La  Plata,  with  its  palaces  and 
model  streets  and  its  magnificent  distances,  has  to  resign  itself  to  the 
monotonous  and  vegetative  life  of  Cordoba  and  Mendoza.  And  the 
new  port?  The  new  port  is  distant  an  hour  and  a half  by  train  from 
the  heart  of  the  capital,  and  if  it  prospers,  as  seems  probable,  it  will 
cause  the  growth  of  a new  town  for  the  accommodation  of  a populace 
of  dock  laborers  and  employes ; but  Buenos  Ayres  will  continue  to 
hold  its  commercial  supremacy,  and  the  improvised  city  of  palaces  will 
not  acquire  any  more  reason  to  exist  than  it  has  at  present.  La 
Plata  is  the  wild  freak  of  an  imprudent  province  to  which  England 
has  opened  her  purse  too  freely;  it  is  a foolish  and  unproductive  in- 
vestment so  far  as  the  commonwealth  is  concerned.  At  the  same 
time  La  Plata  is  an  instructive  example  of  the  craze  for  doing 
things  on  a grand  scale,  and  of  the  desire  to  force  the  machinery 
of  progress,  which  have  characterized  the  Argentines  during  the 
past  ten  years,  and  which,  combined  with  traditional  political  im- 
morality and  corruption,  culminated  in  an  economical  crisis  and  a 
revolution. 


326 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


ARGENTINE  POLITICS  AND  ADMINISTRATION.* 

In  the  month  of  May,  1890,  I had  the  satisfaction  of  being  pres- 
ent at  the  opening  of  Congress  in  Buenos  Ayres,  and  of  hearing 
President  Celman  read  his  message,  which  was  expected  with  great 
curiosity,  owing  to  the  intensity  of  the  financial  and  political  crisis 
then  reigning  in  the  Republic.  The  ceremony,  however,  did  not  at- 
tract so  large  a crowd  as  might  have  been  expected.  On  the  Plaza 
Victoria,  between  the  Palacio  de  Gobierno  and  the  queer  little  Con- 
gress Hall,  infantry  troops  were  drawn  up  in  line,  artillerymen  with 
loose,  baggy  red  trousers,  cadets  from  the  military  college  of  Palermo 
— all  looking  soldierly,  neatly  dressed  in  uniforms  closely  resembling 
those  of  the  French,  and  commanded  by  gorgeously-arrayed  generals, 
bristling  with  gold  braid  and  attended  by  numerous  aides-de-camp 
mounted  on  fiery  steeds.  The  interior  architecture  and  want  of  adorn- 
ment of  the  Congress  Hall  suggest  at  once  a cockpit  and  an  English 
Methodist  chapel.  The  room  was  soon  filled ; in  the  galleries  were 
the  spectators,  mostly  stock-brokers  and  speculators;  on  the  floor 
were  the  representatives  of  the  diplomatic  corps  in  their  special  box, 
the  Ministers,  the  Senators,  and  the  Deputies ; and  at  a tribune  of 
mahogany  with  a green  leather  top  the  President  and  Vice-President 
took  their  seats,  both  in  full  dress,  the  former  wearing  across  his 
bosom,  en  bandouliere,  a blue  and  white  striped  sash,  with  the  golden 
badge  of  office.  About  half  only  of  the  Senators  and  Deputies  wore 
evening  dress.  The  President,  Dr.  Juarez  Celman,  is  a young-look- 
ing, slender  man,  easy  and  even  elegant  in  his  bearing,  with  clean-cut 
features,  an  expression  of  subtle  intelligence,  careful  in  his  dress,  his 
blond  hair  and  beard  closely  trimmed.  There  is  something  in  Dr. 
Juarez  Celman  suggestive  of  the  Parisian  club-man  who  is  expert  in 
handling  the  foils,  experienced  in  the  ways  of  the  world,  full  of  nerve 
and  resource,  but  absolutely  without  illusions  or  scruples.  Such  a 
man  I had  figured  to  myself  the  character  of  Paul  Astier  in  Alphonse 


* This  chapter  was  written  in  Buenos  Ayres  before  the  revolution  of  July,  1890,  but 
as  most  of  the  considerations  and  reflections  contained  therein  have  not  been  nullified 
but  rather  confirmed  by  subsequent  events,  the  author  ventures  to  reprint  the  text  in  its 
original  form,  in  the  hope  that  it  may  be  useful  to  those  who  wish  to  understand  the  real 
condition  of  the  Argentine. 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


327 


Daudet’s  novel,  L' Immortel.  Compared  with  the  heads  of  the  major- 
ity of  the  Senators  and  Deputies,  and  of  some  of  the  military  per- 
sonages present,  whose  facial  angles  were  alarming,  the  head  of  Dr. 
Juarez  Celman  was  conspicuously  that  of  a man  whose  superior  intel- 
ligence enables  him  to  dominate  his  fellows.  The  President  read  his 
long  message  admirably,  with  clear  and  equable  pronunciation,  and 
presented  the  state  of  affairs  plausibly,  with  a wealth  of  figures,  mill- 
ions after  millions  of  pesos , and  column  after  column  of  additions, 
characteristic  of  the  statistical  bent  of  the  Argentines,  and  at  the  same 
time  with  an  abundance  of  minute  detail  characteristic  of  himself. 
President  Celman’s  ambition  is  to  extend  his  authority  to  the  re- 
motest hamlet  of  the  republic,  and  to  allow  no  person  and  no  inci- 
dent to  escape  his  notice  and  his  control. 

The  message  summed  up  the  situation  very  plausibly.  “ The 
financial  difficulties,”  he  said,  “ which  were  beginning  at  the  close  of 
the  last  Congressional  period  have  increased  in  intensity,  assuming 
the  character  of  a commercial  and  economical  crisis,  which  has  affect- 
ed stocks,  restricted  the  use  of  credit,  made  objects  of  consumption 
dear,  and  even  awakened  alarm  and  want  of  confidence.  . . .The  coun- 
try,” he  added,  “ needs  the  united  efforts  of  all,  of  the  authorities  and 
of  the  people,  in  order  to  surmount  this  barrier  which  has  appeared  in 
the  path  of  its  progress.” 

The  causes  of  the  crisis  were  explained  by  the  President  in  the 
following  words : “ The  vertiginous  rapidity  of  our  progress,  the  ex- 
cessive expansion  of  credit  and  its  abuses,  extreme  speculation  in  agio , 
in  joint-stock  companies,  in  the  price  of  land,  and  in  the  creation  of 
bogus  affairs,  are  the  causes  that  have  determined  the  evil,  the  gravity 
of  which  might  threaten  the  future  of  the  nation  were  it  not  that  we 
find  the  production  more  puissant  than  ever,  all  the  sources  of  riches 
in  a healthy  condition,  our  crops  vigorous  and  splendid,  and  our  ex- 
portations surpassing  the  calculations  even  of  the  optimists.  So  long 
as  the  conditions  of  the  vitality  of  the  nation  are  such  as  these,  the 
crisis,  however  acute  it  may  be,  can  only  be  ephemeral.” 

The  more  I saw  of  the  Argentine  Republic  and  of  its  inhabitants, 
the  more  strong  became  my  conviction  that  the  crisis  of  1890  will  not 
be  so  ephemeral  as  the  President  predicts.  The  reasons  of  this  con- 
viction are  based  upon  political  and  social  observations,  rather  than 
upon  consultations  of  figures  or  of  tabular  statements  of  natural  riches 
and  resources  such  as  several  writers  have  drawn  up,  often  under  the 


328 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


genial  influence  of  Government  subventions.  My  opinion  is  that  it 
will  cost  the  Argentine  Republic  years  of  efforts  to  recover  from  the 
discredit  and  chaos  of  the  present  crisis,  and  that  among  the  first  and 
most  essential  elements  of  success  in  this  task  is  moral  reform,  both 
public  and  private.  Whether  we  examine  the  Republic  from  the  po- 
litical, the  social,  or  the  commercial  point  of  view,  we  are  equally 
astounded  by  its  blatant  and  obtrusive  immorality. 

The  Argentine  is  a republic  in  name  only;  in  reality  it  is  an  oli- 
garchy composed  of  men  who  make  of  politics  a commerce.  In  the 
old  days  the  sole  object  of  the  conquistadores  was  to  acquire  wealth 
rapidly,  and  such  remains  the  ideal  of  the  Argentines  of  to-day.  In 
the  colonial  days  the  Spanish  or  creole  population  of  the  towns  lived 
as  functionaries  and  parasites,  profiting  by  the  labor  of  slaves  and  sub- 
dued Indian  tribes,  and  their  aim  was  wealth  and  never  civilization. 
Hence  we  look  in  vain  in  the  old  provincial  capitals  for  traces  of  past 
splendor  or  for  monuments  such  as  testify  to  the  collective  civic  care 
of  the  common  weal.  In  the  provincial  capitals  we  find  the  offices  of 
the  representatives  of  the  authority  of  Spain  and  a Church  on  which 
no  superfluous  adornment  has  been  wasted  ; but  we  see  no  beneficent 
or  educational  foundations,  and  no  evidences  of  unselfish  social  sen- 
timents. After  the  declaration  of  independence  the  intestine  strife 
which  for  years  agitated  the  country  had  rarely  other  than  motives  of 
selfish  ambition,  for  to  hold  power  in  Spanish  America  has  always 
signified  to  possess  the  means  of  rapidly  acquiring  wealth. 

After  the  cessation  of  the  wars  of  Federalists  and  Unitarians,  and 
the  formation  of  the  actual  republic,  with  its  Constitution  soi-disant 
on  the  model  of  that  of  the  United  States,  the  race  for  wealth  became 
all  the  more  furious  as  the  development  of  the  commercial  relations  of 
the  country  helped  to  create  the  great  fortunes  of  the  creole  estan- 
cieros,  or  cattle-breeders.  Piqued  by  jealousy,  other  creoles  threw 
themselves  into  politics  and  became  venal  functionaries,  the  aim  being 
always  personal  enrichment  at  the  expense  of  the  nation.  Nowadays 
the  Argentine  political  men,  with  very  few  notable  exceptions  that 
might  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  one  hand,  from  the  President 
down  to  the  humblest  local  leader,  are  venal  without  concealment  and 
without  shame.  They  are  rapacious  parasites,  like  the  conquistadores , 
like  the  colonial  functionaries,  and  like  the  ambitious  adventurers  who 
furnished  the  dictators  and  tyrants  of  the  first  half  of  the  present  cen- 
tury. Only  at  rare  intervals  does  a good,  patriotic  man  spring  up  and 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


329 


do  something  for  the  country,  which,  in  the  normal  and  iniquitous 
state  of  things,  prospers  not  on  account  of  its  government,  but  in  spite 
of  it.  The  citizens  are  always  crying  out  against  their  rulers,  but  they 
take  no  means  to  change  their  condition.  Why  do  they  not  act  in- 
stead of  talking?  This  question  is  natural.  The  answer  is  not  easy 
to  give  in  a few  words.  Briefly,  we  may  say  that  the  citizens  do  noth- 
ing, and  can  do  nothing,  against  their  parasitical  rulers,  because  they 
are  not  organized  and  not  prepared  or  educated  for  republican  institu- 
tions. In  the  political  struggles  there  are  rarely  questions  of  princi- 
ples, but  always  questions  of  persons.  President  succeeds  President, 
but  the  aim  of  all  is  equally  selfish,  and  even  if  the  Opposition  were 
transformed  into  the  Government,  the  whole  result  would  be  that  one 
set  of  parasites  would  take  the  place  of  another.  In  the  Argentine, 
Uruguay,  Paraguay,  Chili,  and  Peru,  the  political  conditions  are  more 
or  less  the  same;  they  are  ruled  by  presidents  who  are  as  absolute 
autocrats  as  the  Czar  of  Russia,  and  even  more  so,  because  they  are 
safe  from  the  intrusion  or  influence  of  European  criticism.  The 
President  of  the  Argentine  or.  the  President  of  Chili  is  master  of  the 
whole  administrative  organization  of  the  country  so  completely  that 
no  legal  and  constitutional  means  can  be  brought  to  bear  efficacious- 
ly against  his  personal  will  or  caprice.  He  not  only  disposes  of  the 
armed  force  of  the  country,  but  the  entire  administrative  personnel  is 
his  creature  and  at  his  devotion.  Thus  the  manipulation  of  the  whole 
electoral  machinery  is  under  his  control,  and  the  citizens  enjoy  in  con- 
sequence a right  of  voting  that  is  purely  platonic.  They  may  vote,  it 
is  true  in  many  cases,  as  much  as  they  please,  but  no  account  is  taken 
of  their  suffrages.  The  whole  apparatus  of  republicanism  in  these 
countries  is  a farce,  and  in  spite  of  the  sonorous  speeches  of  after-din- 
ner orators,  they  have  not  yet  begun  to  enjoy  even  the  most  element- 
ary political  liberty. 

A brief  glance  at  the  past  history  of  the  South-American  republics 
will  explain  why  this  is  so.  For  convenience’  sake  we  will  take  the 
Argentine  as  an  example,  the  history  of  the  others  being  in  all  essen- 
tial points  analogous  and  parallel.  After  the  separation  from  Spain 
in  1810,  the  Argentines,  prepared  by  three  centuries  of  Spanish  domi- 
nation to  look  to  their  rulers  for  everything,  and  to  dispense  with 
initiative  of  all  kinds  in  the  organization  and  administration  of  their 
national  and  economical  life,  were  at  a loss  what  use  to  make  of  their 


330 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


newly-acquired  liberty.  They  were  free  citizens,  but  they  did  not 
know  what  citizenship  means.  They  had  vague  ideas  of  their  rights, 
but  no  idea  of  their  duties  — a condition,  by-the-way,  in  which  they 
have  remained  to  the  present  day,  therein  resembling  very  closely  the 
French,  who  have  spent  a whole  century  in  learning  that  citizens  of  a 
republic  have  duties  as  well  as  rights,  and  that  the  citizen  who  values 
his  rights  and  desires  to  retain  them  intact  must  give  himself  the 
pains  to  be  continuously  and  zealously  an  active  voting  citizen.  How- 
ever, from  1800  onward  the  Argentines  passed  through  a long  period 
of  revolutions  until  1852,  when  the  nation  seemed  at  length  to  have 
achieved  pacific  possession  of  its  destinies ; but  being  still  without  the 
practical  and  self-reliant  spirit  of  democracy,  it  sought  support  as  an 
example  for  a future  history  in  the  past  experience  of  the  United 
States.  Thus  the  text  of  the  American  Constitution  and  its  federative 
doctrines  were  adopted,  and  the  political  heroes  and  jurisconsults  of 
the  United  States  acquired  new  admirers  and  new  disciples  south  of 
the  equator.  The  modern  Argentine  Republic  found  its  salvation  in 
imitation,  but  the  salvation  has  not  been  complete,  because  the  imita- 
tion of  North-American  institutions  has  been  in  the  letter  rather  than 
in  the  spirit. 

Since  1880  there  has  no  longer  been  any  question  about  national 
unity.  In  virtue  of  a constitutional  pact  the  confederate  provinces 
have  submitted  to  the  same  civil,  commercial,  penal,  and  political  law. 
Buenos  Ayres  is  the  national  capital,  and  the  seat  of  the  national  ex- 
ecutive, legislative,  and  judicial  power,  while  each  province,  or  state, 
retains  its  autonomy.  Theoretically,  the  Argentine  Constitution  is 
excellently  drawn  up  with  a view  to  preventing  the  preponderance  of 
any  one  wheel  in  the  mechanism,  and  particularly  with  a view  to  re- 
straining the  power  and  influence  of  the  President,  who  is  supposed  to 
be  nothing  more  than  the  chief  of  the  cabinet,  elected  for  a fixed  num- 
ber of  years,  and  charged  with  presiding  over  the  execution  of  the 
laws  and  treaties  which  the  nation  elaborates  and  votes  by  means  of 
its  representatives.  But,  as  M.  Emile  Daireaux  has  well  explained  in 
his  study  of  the  political  institutions  of  the  Argentine,  the  theory  which 
declares  the  presence  of  a supreme  chief  at  the  head  of  a republic  to 
be  dangerous,  would  find  abundant  arguments  in  the  spectacle  offered 
by  the  election  of  that  magistrate  in  accordance  with  the  complicated 
formalities  exacted  by  the  framers  of  the  American  Constitution ; in 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


331 


the  importance  which  this  long  incubation  confers  upon  the  favored 
personage ; and,  finally,  in  the  perturbation  which  this  incubation  and 
its  result  necessarily  cause  in  the  whole  nation  in  commerce,  industry, 
social  peace,  and  in  the  union  of  families  and  citizens.  We  may  even 
go  so  far  as  to  say  that  the  political  situation  is  a perpetual  hinder- 
ance  and  danger  to  the  commercial  and  social  welfare  of  the  nation. 
And  yet  the  ideal  of  the  Argentine  Constitution  is  the  same  as  that 
of  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States.  Both  make  the  President  a 
responsible  head  of  a cabinet,  assisted  by  five  ministers,  or  irrespon- 
sible secretaries,  who  can  be  interpellated  on  their  conduct  in  the 
Chambers  without  the  vote  of  the  Chamber  exercising  any  influence 
on  their  portfolios.  These  six  personages,  who  constitute  the  ensem- 
ble of  the  executive  power,  have  numerous  attributions,  but  none  of  an 
independent  character.  Every  attribution  has  its  break,  safeguard,  or 
counterpoise. 

If  the  letter  and  the  spirit  of  the  Argentine  Constitution  were  ob- 
served, the  ideal  would  be  attained.  The  authors  of  the  Constitution, 
as  if  foreseeing  that  this  would  not  be  the  case,  and  feeling  that  the 
election  of  the  President  is  the  most  dangerous  one,  have  endeavored 
to  make  it  the  most  complicated.  The  result  is  that  the  presidential 
election  is  the  beginning  and  end  and  the  incessant  preoccupation  of 
the  whole  political  life  of  the  country,  and  at  the  same  time  the  cause 
of  the  annihilation  of  all  political  life  in  the  true  sense  of  the  words, 
because  the  vote  of  the  citizen  is  suppressed,  and  by  that  initial  fact 
the  whole  mechanism  is  falsified.  Nevertheless,  in  all  local  elections, 
including  those  of  the  Governors  of  provinces,  which  are  renewed 
every  three  years,  those  of  the  provincial  Chambers,  and  those  of  the 
Deputies  and  Senators  of  the  National  Congress,  the  object  in  view  is 
always  the  future  election  of  the  President  of  the  republic,  however 
distant  it  may  be. 

The  mechanism  of  the  presidential  election  in  the  Argentine 
works  as  follows:  The  President  is  elected  for  six  years,  and  is  in- 
stalled on  October  12th,  the  anniversary  of  the  discovery  of  America. 
The  last  year  of  a presidential  term  is  one  of  elections.  On  February 
12th  are  renewed  a third  part  of  the  Senators  and  Deputies  of  the 
National  Congress,  which  will  say  the  last  word  in  the  election  of  the 
new  President.  On  the  12th  of  April  takes  place  in  each  province 
the  election  of  electors  of  the  second  degree,  who,  being  chosen  out- 
side of  the  members  of  Congress,  and  in  double  their  number  for  each 


332 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


province,  meet  on  June  12th  to  designate  the  candidate  for  the  presi- 
dency who  has  their  preference.  These  delegates  accomplish  this 
operation  in  the  capitals  of  their  respective  provinces,  and  designate 
the  President  and  the  Vice-President  by  means  of  signed  personal 
ballots,  which  are  delivered  to  the  legislature  of  the  province,  and  then 
sealed  and  transmitted  to  the  President  of  the  National  Congress, 
who  opens  and  examines  them  in  presence  of  a quorum  composed  of 
at  least  two-thirds  of  the  members  of  that  assembly.  In  case  a candi- 
date has  obtained  an  absolute  majority  for  either  office,  he  is  imme- 
diately nominated  by  Congress ; if,  on  the  other  hand,  no  candidate 
has  an  absolute  majority,  Congress  selects  among  those  who  have  re- 
ceived most  votes,  and  in  a single  session  appoints  President  and  Vice- 
President. 

This  is  all  perfect  in  theory,  but  in  practice  the  influence  of  the 
actual  President  in  office  is  preponderant,  thanks  to  the  care  and  mi- 
nuteness with  which  he  exercises  his  control,  and  thanks  to  the  pres- 
tige and  real  power  which  is  conferred  upon  him  by  his  disposal  of 
the  national  army,  his  privilege  of  calling  out  the  militia,  and  particu- 
larly by  the  famous  right  of  intervention  which  is  attributed  to  him  by 
one  little  clause  that  alone  suffices  to  sap  the  whole  ingeniously  bal- 
anced edifice  of  the  Constitution.  In  virtue  of  this  clause  the  Presi- 
dent is  authorized  to  declare  the  state  of  siege  in  any  province  where 
he  may  think  fit  to  consider  that  order  is  disturbed  or  simply  in  dan- 
ger, and  that,  too,  although  none  of  the  local  authorities  may  have  de- 
manded aid  or  protection.  This  right  of  intervention  has  naturally 
been  transformed  into  a formidable  electoral  weapon.  The  President, 
for  instance,  has  only  to  decree  the  state  of  siege  in  a province  if  the 
Governor  happens  to  be  the  wrong  man,  then  depose  him  and  put  in 
his  place  a docile  functionary  of  his  creation,  and  then,  with  the  aid 
of  a battalion  of  infantry,  he  substitutes  his  own  will  for  that  of  the 
electors,  at  the  risk  sometimes  of  stirring  up  civil  war  if,  by  chance, 
the  province  interfered  with  happens  to  be  prepared  for  resistance. 
Hitherto  the  only  provinces  whose  resistance  has  been  to  be  feared 
are  those  of  the  littoral,  the  most  populous  and  the  richest  of  the  Re- 
public— namely,  Buenos  Ayres,  Santa  Fe,  Entre  Rios,  and  Corrientes. 

What  is  the  motive,  it  may  be  asked,  which  prompts  a President  to 
be  so  anxious  to  control  the  elections  that  are  destined  to  nominate 
his  successor,  seeing  that  a President  is  not  re-eligible  except  after  the 
lapse  of  at  least  one  intervening  term  ? Why,  in  short,  are  South- 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


333 


American  Presidents  desirous  of  naming  their  successors  ? Care  for 
the  welfare  of  the  country  is  rarely  the  leading  preoccupation.  With 
few  exceptions,  Argentine  and  other  South-American  Presidents  have 
abused  their  office  in  order  to  make  their  personal  fortune;  and  when 
their  term  is  at  an  end,  they  naturally  desire  to  avoid  severe  criticism 
of  their  acts  by  a hostile  successor,  to  retain  an  interest  in  the  public 
pilferings  through  the  intermediary  of  a friendly  successor,  and  as 
much  as  possible  to  continue  to  protect  the  numerous  political  sup- 
porters and  friends  who  owe  their  fortune  to  electoral  services  and 
desire  to  consolidate  that  fortune  by  new  services.  Such  ideas  are  in 
the  traditions  of  old  Spain.  In  the  days  of  the  viceroys  and  of  the 
palmy  days  of  Potosi  the  shrinkage  of  the  King’s  gold  on  the  way 
between  the  mines  and  the  royal  treasury  was  always  considerable. 
Nowadays  the  shrinkage  is  observable  in  the  metallic  deposits  of 
banks,  in  the  sums  voted  for  the  execution  of  great  public  works,  and 
in  the  proceeds  of  English  loans.  A calculation  of  deep  interest, 
which  has  never  yet  been  made,  would  be  to  reckon  how  many  of  the 
millions  lent,  mostly  by  English  bondholders,  have  been  diverted  from 
their  destination  to  enrich  politicians,  and  how  many  millions  spent  on 
public  works  have  been  misapplied.  In  his  message,  for  instance, 
President  Celman  announced  that  the  Republic  in  December,  1889, 
possessed  a total  length  of  8074  kilometres  of  railway  in  service,  9914 
kilometres  in  construction,  500  kilometres  of  which  with  the  rails 
already  laid,  and  7332  kilometres  in  project.  As  usual  in  official  docu- 
ments, President  Celman  neglected  to  put  in  qualifying  clauses.  In 
reality  there  are  but  two  well -managed  and  adequate  lines  in  the 
whole  Republic — namely,  Buenos  Ayres  to  Rosario  (548  kilometres), 
and  the  Great  Southern  (1 328  kilometres).  The  rest  are,  for  the  most 
part,  badly  built,  badly  managed,  and  insufficiently  provided  with  roll- 
ing-stock ; and  many  have  been  constructed  without  any  other  object 
than  land  speculations  and  the  Government  guarantee  of  seven  per 
cent,  interest.  The  amount  of  guaranteed  interest  paid  by  the  Argen- 
tine Government  in  1889  to  railway  companies  was  more  than  three 
million  dollars.  The  railway  system  of  the  Argentine  has  not  been 
rationally  conceived ; the  nation  has  been  exploited  by  companies  and 
speculators;  in  the  concession  and  tracing  of  new  lines  the  interests 
of  the  public  are  frequently  sacrificed  to  the  interests  of  individual 
large  landholders,  who  desire  to  increase  the  value  of  their  property 
by  having  a railway  across  it.  The  latest  folly  is  the  building  of  rail- 


334 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


ways  in  the  Chaco,  where  the  land  is  still,  so  to  speak,  in  formation, 
and  so  loose  that  the  track  has  to  be  relaid  almost  after  every  shower 
of  rain.  In  short,  the  moment  we  begin  to  look  into  the  railway  sys- 
tem of  the  Republic,  and  to  examine  the  reality  and  not  the  imposing 
figures  of  statistical  tables,  we  find  very  little  honesty  and  very  little 
that  is  genuine. 

But  to  return  from  this  digression  into  a domain  which  would 
merit  a chapter  by  itself,  we  come  back  to  Argentine  politics,  which 
are  at  the  bottom  of  the  misfortunes  of  the  country.  Politics  in  the 
Argentine  is  a regular  business,  monopolized  by  a ring  of  adventurers, 
with  few  exceptions  creoles  — that  is  to  say,  natives  born  of  Spanish 
parents,  in  contradistinction  to  the  gringos , or  foreigners,  and  to  the 
ordinary  new  Argentine  born  of  foreign  parents  and  naturalized  by 
the  fact  of  his  birth.  All  are  tempted  by  the  chance  of  winning  great 
prizes  and  by  the  certainty  of  obtaining  some  benefice.  The  great 
privilege  coveted  is  that  of  handling  the  public  funds.  As  may  well 
be  imagined,  an  election  in  the  Argentine  is  not  only  a long  but  a 
costly  affair,  both  for  the  candidates  and  for  the  local  committees. 
Who  provides  the  money?  Who  pays  the  bills?  The  Opposition 
candidate  must  be  prepared  to  risk  his  fortune  and  his  credit.  As  for 
the  Government  candidate — that  is  to  say,  the  candidate  patronized 
by  the  retiring  President — the  nation  pays  through  the  national  bank, 
which  opens  credits  in  exchange  for  the  promise  of  future  influence. 
The  Government  candidate  thus  has  an  immense  advantage  over  the 
Opposition  candidate,  whose  friends  and  bankers  are  inevitably  less 
puissant  than  the  national  banks  and  the  combined  administrative 
organization  of  the  whole  country,  supposing,  of  course,  that  the  out- 
going President  holds  the  machine  well  in  hand.  In  any  case  a presi- 
dential election  causes  the  spending  of  enormous  sums  of  money  in 
newspapers,  canvassing  agents,  banquets,  bribery,  and  what  not;  but 
the  whole  affair  amounts  to  a question  of  persons,  and  never  of  prin- 
ciples. The  elector  is  ignored,  inasmuch  as  the  votes  are  not  counted, 
and  the  electoral  lists  are  simply  made  out  by  the  Governor  of  the 
province  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  prearranged 
combination.  In  short,  the  President  is  omnipotent,  and  practically 
names  his  successor,  just  as  the  provincial  governors  name  their  suc- 
cessors. 

Such  being  the  case,  and  such  the  conditions  of  political  life,  re- 
form can  only  be  distant.  Even  supposing  that  an  honest  President 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


335 


be  elected,  he  may  refrain  from  appropriating  millions  sterling  him- 
self, but  how  can  he  control  his  entourage  ? How  can  one  or  even  a 
few  honest  men  cure  the  mass  of  their  creole  countrymen  of  their  tra- 
ditional and  secular  dishonesty? 

In  practice,  the  continuous  political  perturbation  above  referred  to, 
which  is  the  normal  state  of  South-American  republics,  rarely  affects 
the  nation  more  than  superficially,  so  far  as  concerns  the  public  peace. 
In  the  capitals  there  is  a certain  amount  of  agitation.  In  the  provin- 
pial  centres  the  agitation  is  confined  to  a small  circle.  The  great 
mass  of  the  population,  scattered  over  immense  areas,  remains  indif- 
ferent and  absorbed  in  labor  or  vegetative  pastoral  existence.  In 
the  Argentine  the  population  is  reckoned  at  4,000,000,  nine-tenths  of 
which  are  whites  of  Caucasian  race,  descendants  of  the  conquistadores 
and  of  subsequent  colonists.  There  are  about  3,600,000  natives,  800,- 
000  foreigners,  300,000  cross-breeds  or  metis , and  100,000  Indians. 
The  white  population  is  almost  exclusively  of  Latin  origin,  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  Slav  elements  not  exceeding  100,000  individuals.  The 

800.000  foreigners  are  the  result  of  recent  immigration,  and  include 

400.000  Italians  and  150,000  Spaniards — in  other  words,  the  scum  of 
the  two  most  backward  and  degenerate  nations  of  Europe.  In  the 
modernization  of  the  Argentine — that  is  to  say,  in  the  great  progress- 
ive movement  of  the  past  twenty  years — England  has  found  the  cap- 
ital and  Latin  Europe  has  provided  the  workers.  Latin  Europe  has 
sent  across  the  ocean  a million  human  beings.  England  has  sent 
countless  millions  of  capital  for  use  in  banks,  railways,  land  companies, 
and  Government  loans.  Meanwhile  the  creoles  have  continued  to  rule, 
and  the  mass  of  the  natives  have  remained  indolent  and  vegetative  as 
before.  There  has  thus  taken  place  a great  and  rapid  development  of 
wealth  in  the  provinces  of  the  littoral  where  the  European  immigra- 
tion has  been  directed.  The  growth  of  a few  towns  along  the  river 
coast  has  been  prodigious.  The  creation  of  fortunes  by  means  of  com- 
merce and  speculation  has  been  incredibly  great.  But  political  and 
social  progress  have  not  been  achieved  in  a corresponding  degree. 
Indeed,  the  dishonesty,  immorality,  and  cynicism  of  the  Argentine 
functionaries  are  so  remarkable  that  the  suggestion  has  been  seriously 
made  of  subjecting  the  finances  of  the  Republic  to  foreign  tutelage,  as 
has  been  done  in  the  case  of  Egypt.  To  imagine  that  reform  can 
come  from  the  Argentine  nation  itself,  in  spite  of  its  traditions  of  mal- 
versation and  dishonesty,  would  be  rash.  To  place  hope  in  the  influx 


336 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


of  foreigners,  whose  descendants  become  Argentine  citizens,  is  diffi- 
cult, particularly  when  one  sees  the  facility  with  which  these  descend- 
ants assimilate  the  worst  qualities  of  the  natives — their  immorality, 
their  unscrupulousness,  and  their  pride.  The  sons  of  foreigners  are 
more  Argentine  than  the  creoles,  more  material  and  more  aggressive 
The  creoles  are  more  or  less  aristocrats,  and  are  generally  well 
brought  up  in  the  Spanish  fashion.  The  Argentine  of  the  new'  race 
is  the  son  of  parvenus  who  have  gone  out  from  Europe  on  emigrant 
ships,  and  remained  vulgar  and  ignorant  in  spite  of  their  wealth.  The 
children  of  such  parents  are  generally  the  most  impertinent,  grace- 
less, vicious,  coarse  - mouthed,  and  irrepressible  young  men  that  ever 
stepped.  Their  only  thoughts  are  of  money,  pleasure,  and  dress.  The 
young  generations  are  not  of  a moral  calibre  to  undertake  to  reform 
their  country. 

In  point  of  fact,  no  great  reform  movement  is  likely  to  manifest  it- 
self in  the  Argentine.  We  might  even  go  so  far  as  to  say  that  the 
moral  sense  of  the  nation  is  so  blunted  that  it  will  require  years  to  com- 
prehend the  lesson  of  the  crisis  of  1890.  Certain  reforms  of  detail  will 
be  achieved.  The  laws  relating  to  banks  will  also  be  changed,  and 
the  Banco  Hipotecario  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  brought  back  into  the  path 
of  reason.  But  the  liquidation  of  the  errors  of  the  past  ten  years  will 
probably  be  of  less  ephemeral  duration  than  President  Celman  pre- 
dicts. Take,  for  instance,  the  operations  of  the  Bancos  Hipotecarios, 
whether  national  or  provincial.  In  the  beginning  these  banks,  organ- 
ized on  the  principle  of  the  Credit  Foncier  of  France,  with  a view  to 
developing  agriculture  and  the  utilization  of  landed  property,  con- 
ducted their  business  rationally,  and  advanced  money  on  the  security 
of  land  of  recognized  and  approved  value  after  due  verification.  Grad- 
ually the  wildest  speculation  took  possession  of  the  real-estate  market. 
Lots  of  land  were  sold  by  auction  a dozen  times,  and  the  titles  passed 
from  owner  to  owner  without  any  of  the  successive  owners  having 
been  to  see  where  the  lot  was  even  situated.  On  such  titles  the  Banco 
Hipotecario  advanced  money.  What  with  auction  sales,  railway  con- 
cessions, the  creation  of  agricultural  centres  (centros  agricolas ),  the  for- 
mation of  colonies,  the  planting  of  vines,  the  digging  of  canals,  and  a 
score  of  other  schemes,  all  more  or  less  fictitious,  an  increase  in  value 
was  given  to  lands  which  nobody  had  ever  seen,  and  on  the  title-deeds 
of  such  lots  the  mortgage  banks  have  advanced  millions,  and  issued 
series  of  schedules  which  bear  interest,  but  correspond  in  many  cases 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


337 


to  barren  mountains  or  useless  marshes  instead  of  good  land.  This 
state  of  affairs  seems  incredible,  but  almost  everything  is  incredible  in 
the  Argentine  until  you  have  been  on  the  spot  and  seen  and  heard  for 
yourself.  The  Bancos  Hipotecarios  have  really  advanced  millions  of 
dollars  on  security  which,  upon  examination,  proves  to  be  marsh  or 
desert.  In  future  we  may  trust  these  banks  will  take  care  to  verify 
their  securities,  although  from  the  want  of  topographical  surveys  of 
the  Republic,  and  from  the  absence  of  means  of  communication,  that 
operation  is  often  difficult  in  the  extreme.  At  any  rate  there  must  be 
a cessation  of  fictitious  business.  In  the  same  way  speculation  has 
carried  the  price  of  land  in  the  capital,  and  even  in  the  most  distant 
provinces,  to  a degree  of  inflation  that  surpasses  all  that  one  can  imag- 
ine. The  liquidation  of  these  mistakes  and  the  return  to  normal 
prices  will  not  be  an  easy  or  rapid  business. 

Now  comes  the  great  question  of  immigration.  In  a new  country 
the  development  of  the  population  is  the  basis  of  all  progress.  The 
aim  must  be  to  create  an  equilibrium  between  the  population  and  the 
cultivable  land,  and  to  carry  the  utilization  of  the  soil  to  the  highest 
degree.  In  the  Argentine  the  agricultural  era  really  began  with  the 
modern  colonizing  period ; that  is  to  say,  in  the  middle  of  the  present 
century.  The  national  industry  of  the  Argentine  is  cattle-breeding. 
The  agriculture  of  the  Spanish  settlers  remained  in  an  embryonic 
state.  Towards  i860  General  Mitre,  first  constitutional  President, 
started  the  modern  agricultural  development  by  inviting  European 
immigration,  and  was  the  first  to  conceive  a project  for  the  utiliza- 
tion of  the  public  lands  of  the  pampas.  His  successor,  General  Sar- 
miento,  continued  in  the  same  path,  and  gave  over  for  cultivation 
some  of  the  islands  of  the  Parana  River  and  some  regions  of  the 
country.  Dr.  Avellaneda,  the  next  President,  gave  new  impetus  to 
the  work,  which  was  crowned  in  1878  by  the  conquest  by  President 
Julio  Roca  of  the  immense  pampas,  until  then  possessed  by  the  Ind- 
ians. The  occupation  of  the  pampa  enabled  the  State  to  make  es- 
says in  official  colonization,  the  results  of  which  led  capitalists  and 
landed  proprietors  to  follow  the  example.  Until  1878  the  Argentine 
land-owners  and  estancieros,  like  those  of  the  Republic  of  Uruguay  at 
the  present  day,  were  averse  to  dividing  up  their  estates  and  facilitat- 
ing colonization.  In  proportion  as  the  pampa  was  freed  from  Ind- 
ians, the  pastoral  industry  spread  out  towards  the  south  and  the  west, 
while  the  agricultural  colonies  took  up  their  position  northward  along 


333 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


the  great  rivers,  where  there  were  greater  facilities  of  transport  and  a 
greater  thickness  of  vegetal  soil.  At  the  same  time  the  pastoral  in- 
dustry became  more  scientific  in  its  methods ; the  fencing  in  of  the 
land  by  means  of  posts  and  wire  rendered  the  gaucho  guardians  su- 
perfluous ; railways  created  markets,  and  irrigation  canals  fertilized 
deserts.  On  the  other  hand,  the  division  of  the  land  into  small  lots, 
the  development  of  credit  by  means  of  the  Bancos  Hipotecarios,  and 
the  consequent  evolution  of  agriculture,  began  to  make  the  Argentine 
Republic  agro-pastoral  instead  of  exclusively  pastoral.  Thus  agricult- 
ure and  colonization  are  synonymous  in  the  country.  The  first  mod- 
ern colony,  Esperanza,  in  the  province  of  Santa  Fe,  was  founded  in 
1856;  and  there  are  now  some  300  colonies  in  the  whole  Republic, 
which  numbers  altogether  2373  centres  of  habitation  having  name 
and  place  on  the  maps. 

The  increase  of  the  pastoral  industry  within  the  past  ten  years  has 
been  enormous,  the  production  having  risen  from  350,000,000  francs 
to  580,000,000  francs.  The  Argentine  Republic  is  now  the  richest 
country  of  the  world  in  sheep,  and  the  third  in  rank  after  the  United 
States  and  Russia  in  horned  cattle  and  horses.  This  fact,  however, 
implies  an  enormous  production  of  meat  for  which  there  is  no  suffi- 
cient market,  and  the  wool  and  hides  remain  the  chief  elements  of 
profit.  According  to  trustworthy  approximate  statistics,  the  excess  of 
the  production  of  meat  over  the  local  consumption  in  the  Argentine 
is  730,000,000  kilograms,  of  which  15,000,000  kilograms  alone  are  ex- 
ported in  preserved,  dried,  salted,  jerked,  extracted,  or  peptonized 
forms.  Nowadays,  owing  to  the  decline  in  the  demand  for  charqui , 
tasajo,  or  jerked  beef,  important  and  more  or  less  successful  enter- 
prises have  been  established  for  the  exportation  of  frozen  carcasses, 
while  essays  are  continually  being  made  to  organize  the  transporta- 
tion of  live  cattle  from  La  Plata  to  European  ports. 

Within  the  past  ten  years  the  extent  of  cultivated  land  in  the 
Argentine  has  increased  from  300,000  hectares  to  2,500,000  hec- 
tares ; the  production  of  cereals  has  risen  from  80,000,000  francs 
to  300,000,000  francs,  and  the  exportation  of  grain  from  20,000  tons 
to  700,000  tons.  This  prodigious  augmentation  has  caused  certain 
prophets  to  foresee  a near  future  when  the  cereal  production  of  the 
Argentine  will  vie  with  that  of  the  United  States  and  Russia.  This 
prediction  is,  perhaps,  premature,  especially  as  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  during  the  coming  ten  years  the  progress  of  the  Argentine 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


339 


will  be  less  vertiginously  rapid  than  it  was  during  the  past  ten  years. 
Furthermore,  it  is  a mistake  to  affirm,  as  some  foreign  authorities 
have  recently  done,  that  there  is  a marked  tendency  in  the  Argen- 
tine to  substitute  pastoral  for  agricultural  industry.  In  my  observa- 
tions of  the  Republic  I found  no  traces  of  such  a premeditated  change. 
There  are,  on  the  contrary,  several  reasons  why  the  progress  of  agri- 
culture in  the  Argentine  should  henceforward  be  very  gradual.  In 
the  first  place,  the  pastoral  industry  is  easier  and  more  surely  profit- 
able ; it  requires  less  capital,  less  labor,  and  simpler  means  of  commu- 
nication than  agriculture  on  a large  scale.  Secondly,  the  easily  and 
cheaply  accessible  grain-ground  of  the  Republic  is  already  taken  up, 
and  the  occupation  of  more  distant  ground  can  only  become  profit- 
able in  proportion  as  railways  are  built  and  cheap  freights  obtained. 
The  actual  railway  freights  in  the  Argentine  are  a terrible  obstacle  to 
commerce,  and  so  long  as  the  currency  remains  depreciated  and  con- 
fidence impossible  there  can  be  no  hope  of  a change.  Here  we  once 
more  find  ourselves  face  to  face  with  questions  of  politics,  administra- 
tion, and  public  immorality.  In  the  third  place,  the  reputation  of  the 
soil  of  the  Argentine  has  been  exaggerated.  There  are  vast  expanses 
of  rich  soil,  but  there  are  also  vast  expanses  where  the  vegetal  layer  is 
so  thin  that  after  a few  years  it  is  exhausted,  as  is  already  the  case  in 
certain  parts  of  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres.  The  exploitation  of 
the  virgin  soil  in  the  agricultural  provinces  of  the  Argentine  has  per- 
haps seen  its  best  days,  and  the  questions  of  artificial  fertilizers  and 
more  scientific  agriculture  are  beginning  to  present  themselves.  As 
for  the  more  recent  colonies  in  the  Gran  Chaco,  the  want  of  cheap 
means  of  transportation,  and  at  the  same  time  the  unfavorableness  of 
the  climate,  render  them  merely  vegetative,  and  not  actively  progress- 
ive. As  regards  the  Rio  Negro  and  the  Chubut  Valley,  the  occupa- 
tion of  these  remote  and  inaccessible  regions  is  too  recent  to  author- 
ize any  forecasts  at  present.  Admitting,  however,  that  there  is  land 
in  abundance  at  the  disposal  of  agricultural  industry,  the  great  ob- 
stacles will  continue  to  be  the  want  of  capital  and  the  want  of  labor, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  heavy  tax  imposed  upon  production  by  protec- 
tionism and  political  thievery.  The  Argentine  Republic  has  no  man- 
ufactures worth  mentioning,  and  yet  foreign  manufactured  goods  are 
taxed  at  25  per  cent,  of  their  value,  wearing  apparel  pays  45  per  cent., 
imported  comestibles  in  general  30  per  cent.,  without  speaking  of 
specific  duties  on  a similar  scale.  The  cost  of  living  is  thus  rendered 


340 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


very  high.  As  for  capital,  the  revelations  of  the  last  crisis  are  not  of 
a nature  to  make  people  anxious  to  flood  the  Argentine  with  money, 
however  great  may  be  the  natural  riches  of  the  territory.  At  present 
there  is  an  almost  total  cessation  of  business,  and  months  must  pass 
before  people  will  dare  to  think  of  initiating  new  undertakings. 

The  commercial  and  economical  crisis  of  1890,. and  the  emigration 
of  many  thousands  of  immigrants,  have  discredited  the  Argentine  Re- 
public as  a field  for  investment  and  settlement,  and  years  must  elapse 
before  the  blind  confidence  of  the  past  decade  can  be  restored.  The 
thousands  who  left  the  Republic  in  the  autumn  and  winter  of  the  pres- 
ent year  were  rarely  agricultural  laborers  or  colonists — with  the  excep- 
tion, of  course,  of  the  few*  thousand  Italian  reapers  who  go  over  every 
year  for  the  harvest,  and  thus  avoid  the  idle  winter  months  in  their 
own  country.  They  were  rather  artisans,  masons,  navvies,  workers  in 
the  towns  — nomads,  in  short.  There  was  also  a considerable  emi- 
gration of  commercial  people  and  employes.  Why  did  these  peo- 
ple leave  ? Because  living  became  too  dear,  owing  to  the  contin- 
ued depreciation  of  the  national  paper-money,  and  because  there  was 
a general  cessation  of  business,  notably  of  the  building  trade  and  its 
branches,  which,  during  the  past  three  years,  gave  employment  in 
Buenos  Ayres  alone  to  100,000  hands.  These  emigrants,  and  also 
those  who  stayed  behind,  whether  workmen  or  colonists,  naturally  re- 
ported in  Europe  the  dearness  of  life  in  the  Argentine,  and  the  cor- 
responding insufficiency  of  salaries,  and  immediately  the  current  of 
immigration  almost  entirely  ceased  to  flow.  The  agents  of  the  Ar- 
gentine Government  abroad  are  also  responsible,  to  a large  extent,  for 
the  discredit  of  the  country  in  the  eyes  of  the  intending  European  im- 
migrant, inasmuch  as,  by  circulars  and  pamphlets,  they  have  spread 
culpably  erroneous  information  with  a view  to  alluring  emigrants, 
who,  after  suffering  all  kinds  of  abuses  and  privations  in  so-called  col- 
onies planted  literally  in  the  wilderness,  have,  in  many  cases,  to  be 
repatriated  by  the  consulates  of  their  respective  nationalities.  These 
abuses  and  misrepresentations  have  attracted  the  attention  of  Euro- 
pean governments ; the  Belgian  Government,  in  particular,  has  caused 
a delegate,  M.  Wodon,  to  visit  the  various  Argentine  colonies,  both 
official  and  private,  and  I have  reason  to  believe  that  his  report  will 
be  of  a very  condemnatory  character  as  regards  many  of  these  cen- 
tres of  misery  and  privation. 

Concerning  the  dearness  of  living  in  the  Argentine  there  can  be 


ARGENTINE  PROVINCIAL  SKETCHES. 


341 


no  gainsaying:  everything  is  dear  except  meat.  The  country  is  ultra- 
protectionist. The  tradespeople  are  hampered  with  enormous  rents, 
heavy  licenses  and  taxes,  and  innumerable  custom-house  and  landing 
charges  over  and  above  the  duties.  Clothes  and  imported  manu- 
factured articles  necessary  for  daily  life  cost  double,  and  more  than 
double,  their  price  in  Europe.  Thus,  while  the  Argentine  Govern- 
ment endeavors,  by  assisted  immigration  and  subsidies,  to  encour- 
age the  importation  of  laborers,  it  discourages  that  importation  in 
a stronger  measure  by  the  artificial  increase  of  the  dearness  of  living. 
On  the  one  hand,  it  offers  premiums  for  the  transport  of  frozen  meat, 
in  order  to  favor  the  exportation  of  one  of  its  principal  products, 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  it  diminishes  that  exportation  by  overtaxing 
and  thereby  diminishing  the  consumption  of  the  articles  with  which 
Europe  pays  for  its  importations  from  La  Plata.  Furthermore,  in  or- 
der to  hasten  the  development  of  public  works,  and  to  enlarge  and 
embellish  the  towns,  the  State,  the  provinces,  and  the  municipalities 
increase  their  expenses  and  multiply  their  loans  with  feverish  haste. 
Between  1878  and  1888  the  expenses  of  the  State  alone  rose  from 
twenty  to  sixty  millions  of  dollars,  and  the  loans  subscribed  in  Europe 
have  advanced  with  corresponding  rapidity.  . . . 

All  this  I do  not  say  with  a view  to  depreciating  the  Argentine, 
“that  young  and  radiant  republic,”  as  a French  writer,  M.  Emile  Gau- 
tier, calls  it — “that  young  and  radiant  republic  whose  magic  develop- 
ment, of  a nature  to  confound  the  imagination  of  the  old  nations  im- 
mobilized in  the  ruts  of  routine,  has  nothing  to  envy  in  the  expansion 
of  the  country  of  Washington  and  Lincoln.”  M.  Gautier,  however, 
writes  without  having  seen  the  country.  I am  simply  recording  im- 
pressions and  observations,  many  of  which  are,  doubtless,  widely  differ- 
ent from  those  contained  in  the  average  accounts  of  the  Argentine 
Republic.  The  Argentine  is  a great  republic,  but  its  greatness  needs 
to  be  circumscribed  by  many  qualifying  clauses.  To  my  mind,  the 
source  of  all  the  difficulties  that  the  Argentine  has  encountered,  the 
origin  of  all  the  trials  that  it  still  has  to  traverse,  and  the  obstacle  to 
the  development  of  the  human  agglomerations  of  the  Republic  into  a 
respectable  nation,  is  the  all-pervading  private  and  public  immorality 
and  want  of  moral  restraint.  In  the  Argentine  there  is  neither  a na- 
tional nor  a personal  ideal.  The  aim  of  all  is  enrichment  and  mate- 
rial enjoyment  alone.  As  in  politics,  so  it  is  in  private  life ; there  is 
no  glory  in  being  President  of  the  Republic,  but  only  profit;  there  is 


342 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


no  honor  in  being  an  Argentine  citizen,  but  the  citizen  who  does  not 
gain  wealth,  by  what  means  matters  little,  is  looked  upon  with  disdain. 
The  Argentines  have  eliminated  virtue  from  their  democracy;  they 
have  forgotten  that  they  ever  had  souls  ; and  yet  they  talk  of  their 
greatness  and  revel  in  prodigious  statistics.  But  in  what  does  a na- 
tion’s greatness  consist?  To  quote  the  words  of  James  Anthony 
Froude,  in  his  Oceana : “Whether  [a  nation]  be  great  or  little  de- 
pends entirely  on  the  sort  of  men  and  women  that  it  is  producing.  A 
sound  nation  is  a nation  that  is  composed  of  sound  human  beings, 
healthy  in  body,  strong  of  limb,  true  in  word  and  deed — brave,  sober, 
temperate,  chaste,  to  whom  morals  are  of  more  importance  than  wealth 
or  knowledge — where  duty  is  first  and  the  rights  of  man  are  second — 
where,  in  short,  men  grow  up  and  live  and  work,  having  in  them  what 
our  ancestors  called  ‘ the  fear  of  God.’  ” 


CHAPTER  XII. 


\ 


UP  THE  RIVER  PARANA. 


N May  20,  1890,  I left  Buenos  Ayres  for  a trip  up  the  Parana 


River  on  board  the  Platense  flotilla  Company’s  ship  Olympo. 
Generally  these  ships  start  from  Campana,  fifty  miles  by  land  and  1 10 
miles  by  water  from  Buenos  Ayres;  but, par  excepcion,  we  started  from 
La  Boca,  whose  quays  presented  the  usual  scenes  of  animation,  con- 
fusion, and  cruelty  to  animals  for  which  they  are  remarkable.  We 
steamed  out  through  the  narrow  dredged  channel,  enjoyed  a panoramic 
view  of  the  city,  and  so  gained  the  brown  waters  of  the  river,  crowded 
with  steamers  and  sailing-craft  of  all  kinds.  We  left  at  noon,  and 
were  soon  out  of  sight  of  land,  and  it  was  not  until  towards  sunset,  at 
five  o’clock,  that  we  saw  across  the  yellow,  golden,  flushed  waters  some 
low,  muddy  shores,  with  trees  to  the  right,  and  on  the  left  a rocky 
island,  named  Martin  Garcia,  some  two  miles  long,  rising  130  feet 
above  the  water,  and  distant  two  miles  from  the  Uruguay  shore,  and 
twenty-four  miles  from  the  Argentine  shore  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata. 
Martin  Garcia  has  been  called  the  Gibraltar  of  the  river  Plate.  It 
commands  the  entrance  of  the  Uruguay  River  and  of  the  deep-water 
channel  of  the  Parana,  called  the  Parana  Guazu,  the  other  channel  be- 
ing called  the  Parana  de  las  Palmas,  which  is  available  only  for  ships 
of  light  draught.  Martin  Garcia  belonged  formerly  to  the  Republic 
of  Uruguay,  but  was  annexed  by  the  Argentines  in  order  to  prevent 
it  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  Brazilians.  The  island  is  fortified,  and 
there  is  a naval  school  on  it.  We  are  now  in  the  delta  of  the  Parana, 
which  is  twenty  miles  broad,  and  extends  300  miles  up  the  river,  con- 
taining hundreds  of  islands,  some  swampy,  others  of  extreme  fertility, 
planted  with  poplars  and  peach-trees,  and  inhabited  by  market-gar- 
deners; others,  again,  covered  only  with  long  feather-grass  and  ceibo , 
a low-growing  tree  of  the  acacia  family  that  bears  bright  scarlet 
flowers.  On  the  return  journey  I passed  through  the  Las  Palmas 
Channel,  admired  the  beauty  of  these  islands,  and  noted  the  flourishing 
new  towns  and  ports  of  Campana,  Zarate,  Baradero,  and  San  Pedro,, 


344 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


where  there  seems  to  be  much  business  done  in  refrigerated  and  pre- 
served meat,  agricultural  and  pastoral  products,  firewood,  and  distilla- 
tion. At  Zarate  there  is  a large  paper-mill  and  a Government  arsenal. 
All  this  we  missed  on  the  up  journey,  for  after  we  passed  Martin 
Garcia  night  fell,  the  moon  rose,  and  the  ship  continued  quivering 

along  under  the  clear 
starry  sky  between  the 
blue -black  silhouettes 
of  islands  on  either 
side. 

The  Olympo  is  one 
of  the  finest  ships  of 
the  Platense  Company, 
a large  and  commodi- 
ous side-wheeler,  with 
showily  - fitted  saloons 
and  as  much  comfort, 
I suppose,  as  the  av- 
erage passenger  de- 
serves. For  my  part, 
I could  not  complain, 
inasmuch  as  the  ge- 
nial Yankee  skipper 
in  command  took  a fa- 
therly interest  in  my 
happiness,  and  did  all 
in  his  power  to  make 
my  journey  pleasant. 
My  fellow -passengers 
formed  a very  mixed 
crowd:  some  were  own- 

ON  THE  LOWER  DECK  OF  THE  STEAMER.  ei"S  Ca^e  G^mS,  Oth- 

ers engaged  in  deriva- 


tive pastoral  industries, 

others  commercial  travellers,  land  speculators,  business  people  of  all 
kinds,  two  or  three  English  civil  engineers  occupied  on  railway  work 
up  the  river,  a Spanish  operetta  company  bound  for  Asuncion,  Par- 
aguay ; and  an  Englishman,  his  wife,  and  young  brother,  who  were 
travelling  en  touristes  to  see  the  country.  This  Englishman  summed 


UP  THE  RIVER  PARANA. 


345 


up  his  impression  of  the  members  of  the  operetta  company,  and  of 
the  male  passengers  of  Latin  descent  generally,  by  saying  that  he 
“ would  not  care  to  meet  any  of  them  in  a dark  lane  at  night.” 

With  few  exceptions,  the  passengers  were  sallow,  ugly,  undersized, 
hard-looking;  and  the  men  and  women  of  the  operetta  company,  es- 
pecially the  chorus  singers,  were  singularly  unhandsome.  The  men, 
with  brilliant  black  eyes  and  their  hair  plastered  over  their  foreheads, 
had  faces  covered  with  scars,  pits,  and  holes.  The  women  had  like- 
wise brilliant  black  eyes,  strangely-plastered  hair,  yellow  faces,  and  feat- 
ures wholly  wanting  in  regularity  or  charm  of  any  kind.  “ Que  tipos 
tan  feos /”  (what  ugly  creatures!)  exclaimed  the  Spanish- Americans 
on  board.  At  dinner  I observed  with  curiosity  the  faces  of  the  passen- 
gers. There  were  a few  creoles,  men  and  women  of  more  or  less  dis- 
tinguished aspect;  there  was  a numerous  collection  of  the  low  types 
of  the  Flamenco  cafes  of  Madrid  represented  by  the  operetta  com- 
pany ; and  then  came  the  rank  and  file,  suggesting  still  the  crowds  of 
emigrants  that  one  sees  on  the  ocean  steamers — the  same  mean  faces ; 
the  same  signs  of  hereditary  vice,  misery,  short  commons,  unwhole- 
some moral  and  physical  surroundings ; the  same  poor  European 
stock,  worn  and  deformed  in  the  struggle  for  life,  but  now  transplanted 
and  thriving  in  new  soil.  Many  of  these,  I imagine,  are  successful 
colonists,  or  the  children  of  colonists  and  emigrants  whom  fortune  has 
favored.  The  stock  seems  poor,  but  it  is  improving.  The  faces  are 
still  wanting  in  serenity,  but  the  struggle  for  life  is  evidently  more 
clement.  There  is  as  yet  nothing  amiable  in  expression,  voice,  and 
manner;  there  is  little  gayety  manifested,  but  still  there  is  no  evidence 
of  unhappiness.  These  people  are  all  well  dressed,  the  men  wearing 
good  tailor-made  clothes,  the  women  ready-made  costumes.  They  are 
seemingly  prosperous,  but  remain  in  a transitional  state,  as  if  they  did 
not  dare  to  realize  and  enjoy  their  prosperity ; as  if  the  shadow  of  the 
misery  of  their  European  fathers  and  forefathers  hung  over  them 
like  a cloud,  veiling  the  sun  of  their  present  felicity. 

Revolving  in  my  mind  these  and  similar  fancies,  I went  to  bed  and 
slept  soundly  until  morning,  when  the  silence  of  the  engine  woke  me, 
and  I found  the  ship  anchored  in  a white  fog.  We  thus  lost  a couple 
of  hours,  and  then  steamed  onward  past  San  Nicolas,  a busy  town  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  river,  240  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres,  with  a pop- 
ulation of  20,000  souls,  and  considerable  trade,  as  is  shown  by  the 
number  of  ocean  steamers  anchored  off  the  port,  and  the  movement  of 


346 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


lighters  and  schooners  laden  with  wheat  and  flour.  The  land  along 
the  right  bank  of  the  river  rises  in  steep  and  continuous  bluffs.  The 
stream  is  immense,  measuring  nearly  sixteen  hundred  yards  wide,  with 
a greatest  depth  of  seventy-two  feet,  and  a current  of  an  estimated 
rapidity  of  three  miles  an  hour.  The  left  bank  is  formed  of  low  and 
marshy  islands  covered  with  scrub  and  trees  swarming  with  wild-fowl. 
The  water  is  of  a deep  brown  color,  and  heavily  charged  with  sand 
and  organic  matter  in  solution.  In  the  course  of  the  morning  we 
strike  on  a sand-bank,  but  are  able  to  back  off  without  much  difficulty, 
and  at  noon  we  reach  Rosario  de  Santa  Fe,  300  miles  by  water  and 
186  miles  by  land  from  Buenos  Ayres.  This  town  of  over  fifty  thou- 
sand inhabitants,  the  great  emporium  of  the  trade  of  the  inland  prov- 
inces between  the  Parana  and  the  Andes,  stands  eighty  feet  above  the 
water,  and  with  its  cathedral  dome,  the  white  fa9ades  of  various  new 
buildings,  the  vast  warehouses,  the  mills  with  tall  chimneys,  and  the 
long  chutes  that  convey  sacks  of  grain  from  the  top  of  the  bluffs  di- 
rectly into  the  holds  of  the  steamers  moored  at  the  foot,  presents  a 
pleasant  and  busy  aspect.  The  quays,  however,  are  all  in  disorder, 
owing  to  the  works  in  progress  for  the  construction  of  an  adequate 
port  and  moles,  and  the  throng  of  steamers  and  sailing-vessels  is 
moored  in  the  river  to  innumerable  red  buoys,  among  which  swarms 
of  squealing  gulls  noisily  dispute  the  floating  garbage.  Vessels  draw- 
ing fifteen  feet  of  water  can  always  ascend  as  far  as  Rosario. 

We  remain  at  this  port  until  midnight,  leisurely  loading  maize  and 
flour  for  Paraguay,  the  transport  by  water  from  Rosario  being  cheaper 
than  would  be  the  transport  by  bullock  carts  from  the  country  districts 
of  Paraguay  into  the  towns.  We  also  take  on  board  some  rough  re- 
cruits, under  the  conduct  of  three  dirty  soldiers,  accompanied  by  their 
women  folk  and  children,  to  whom  quarters  were  assigned  on  the 
upper  deck  abaft  the  beam.  These  recruits  are,  I am  informed,  jail- 
birds and  criminals  who,  instead  of  being  kept  in  prison,  are  sent  to 
do  duty  in  the  frontier  corps  at  Formosa  in  the  Gran  Chaco,  and  to 
keep  the  Indians  at  bay  when  necessary.  The  soldiers,  it  appears, 
seize  every  opportunity  of  deserting,  and  the  runaways  now  form 
bands  of  brigands  far  more  dangerous  than  the  Indians.  Several  en- 
gineers whom  I met,  who  had  been  engaged  in  various  railway  surveys 
and  expeditions  in  the  Chaco,  reported  that  they  were  constantly  mo- 
lested by  these  brigands,  but  very  rarely  had  any  trouble  with  the 
Indians.  The  system  of  criminal  recruits  is  of  course  bad,  but  per- 


SOLDIERS  AND  RECRUITS. 


UP  THE  RIVER  PARANA. 


349 


haps  it  is  the  only  practical  way  of  getting  men  for  the  wild  frontier 
service,  where  pillage  takes  the  place  of  pay.  The  recruits  and  their 
escort  formed  a picturesque  group  with  their  varied  costume  and  their 
more  varied  skins,  ranging  from  white  through  bronze  to  absolute 
African  black.  The  women  were  Indians,  it  being  the  Argentine 
usage  in  warfare  against  the  aborigines  to  kill  off  the  men,  and  to  dis- 
tribute the  captive  women  as  wives  for  the  troops.  The  only  baggage 
that  these  creatures  had  consisted  of  ponchos , a guitar,  an  accordion, 
and  several  kettles  and  gourds  for  making  mate , or  Paraguayan  tea, 
which  they  drank  from  morning  until  night.  Our  English  tourist  and 
his  wife  were  very  much  scandalized  at  the  dirty  ways  of  these  soldiers, 
and  particularly  at  the  manner  in  which  the  women  washed  the  chil- 
dren, taking  a mouthful  of  water,  then  spitting  the  water  into  their 
hands  and  rubbing  it  over  the  faces.  This  operation  is  constantly 
seen  in  South  America  among  Indians  and  cross-breeds.  The  idea  is 
that  only  barbarous  whites  wash  in  cold  water.  Holding  the  water  in 
the  mouth  for  a few  seconds  is  the  easiest  way  of  warming  it.  The 
Englishman’s  younger  brother  was  also  greatly  scandalized  because 
the  military  officer  who  shared  his  cabin  slept  in  his  clothes,  did  not 
wash  at  all,  did  not  even  own  a tooth-brush,  and  carried  all  his  bag- 
gage in  a hat-box.  Costumbre  del  pais,  I explained  to  him — “ the  cus- 
tom of  the  country.” 

Thursday,  May  2 2d,  we  steamed  along  between  islands  covered 
with  scrub  and  feather  grass,  and  between  low  shores  of  sand  and 
mud,  passing  many  schooners  laboriously  tacking  up  or  down  stream, 
or  being  towed  up  by  steam-tugs.  At  10.30  we  reach  Diamante,  on 
the  east  bank,  370  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres.  The  bluffs  that  we 
have  hitherto  noticed  on  the  western  or  Santa  Fe  bank,  now  appear 
on  the  Entre  Rios  side,  and  Diamante  is  built  on  a plateau  200  feet 
above  the  river,  reached  by  a zigzag  road  up  the  steep  cliff,  or  barran- 
ca, as  it  is  called.  A distillery  with  a tall  chimney  and  a few  houses 
are  visible  in  the  vicinity  of  the  port ; along  the  golden  sandy  beach 
are  groups  of  women  washing  clothes ; on  the  top  of  the  bluff  are  tall 
eucalyptus-trees,  and  down  the  zigzag  path  teams  of  oxen  drag  groan- 
ing carts  laden  with  grain,  some  300  bags  of  which  we  take  on  board, 
and  then,  at  2 p.m.,  resume  our  journey. 

After  passing  Diamante,  we  begin  to  find  the  scenery  more  and 
more  interesting.  On  the  east  bank  the  high  barrancas  continue, 
surmounted  by  thick  forests,  and  reminding  one  in  parts  of  the  fa- 


350 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


mous  Cliefden  Woods  on  the  river  Thames,  but  on  a smaller  scale  so 
far  as  the  trees  are  concerned,  the  growth  being  generally  low.  As 
for  the  river  Parana  it  seems  to  become  more  vast  and  impressive  the 
higher  we  go,  and  before  reaching  the  town  of  Parana  it  widens  to 
3000  yards.  This  town,  410  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres,  stands  at  an 
elevation  of  120  feet  from  the  river,  and  at  a distance  of  two  miles 
from  the  port.  It  is  a town  of  European  aspect,  of  no  special  charac- 
ter because  it  is  purely  imitative,  but  nevertheless  one  of  the  few  well- 
built  and  well-kept  cities  in  the  Republic,  of  which,  by-the-way,  it  was 
the  capital  from  1852  till  1861.  The  port  is  picturesque,  and  along 
the  shore  in  the  vicinity  are  many  lime-kilns  built  under  the  bluffs. 
From  this  point  a small  steamer  runs  daily  up  a tributary  of  the 
Parana  to  the  town  of  Santa  Fe. 

The  Olympo  arrived  at  Parana  at  6 p.m.,  and  left  at  1 a.m.  The 
next  morning  broke  dark  and  cloudy,  but  soon  the  sun  cleared  the 
sky,  and  gilded  the  sails  of  the  innumerable  schooners  that  were  glid- 
ing over  the  vast  river  like  gigantic  water-fowl.  The  landscape  is 
composed  of  green  expanses  of  water,  with  bluffs,  or  barrancas , on  the 
Entre  Rios,  bank  and  flat  islands  covered  with  low  timber  on  the 
other.  After  passing  the  colony  of  Hernandarias,  where  the  forest 
begins  to  alternate  with  prairie,  we  halt  at  Santa  Elena,  a recent  set' 
tlement  with  huge  sheds  for  salting  and  drying  meat,  steam-boilers  for 
making  tallow,  and  the  usual  appliances  for  the  accessory  branches  of 
the  saladero  industry.  At  noon  we  reach  La  Paz,  530  miles  from 
Buenos  Ayres,  an  important  town  pleasantly  situated  on  heights 
overlooking  the  river,  and  after  a halt  of  an  hour  we  proceed  on  our 
journey  amid  islands  covered  with  more  or  less  luxuriant  vegetation, 
and  across  enormous  wastes  of  brown  water,  whose  surface  is  wrinkled 
here  and  there  by  sand- banks  and  shoals.  The  scenery  is  monoto- 
nous, it  is  true,  but  nevertheless  has  a charm ; the  immensity  of  the 
river  impresses  one;  the  tree -clad  expanse  of  low  islands  seems  to 
have  no  limits;  there  is  a fascination  in  the  very  solitude  of  the  land- 
scape, which,  in  the  long  intervals  between  the  towns  and  colonies,  is 
rarely  animated  except  by  birds,  and  now  and  then  by  the  tents  and 
encampments  of  Italian  wood-cutters  and  charcoal-burners  pitched  on 
the  islands.  At  7 p.m.  we  reached  Esquina,  590  miles  from  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  in  the  vicinity  we  remark  for  the  first  time  great  quanti- 
ties of  tall  and  dwarf  palm-trees,  growing  in  wild  profusion  in  the 
thick  jungle  which  covers  the  low  and  swampy  coast,  for  after  leaving 


UP  THE  RIVER  PARANA 


351 


A WATER-CARRIER. 


La  Paz,  the  character  of  the  landscape  changes,  owing  to  the  disap- 
pearance of  the  barrancas.  Esquina  is  about  two  miles  inland  up  the 
Corrientes  River,  on  which  a small  steamer  plies  in  correspondence 
with  the  Platense  boats.  Henceforward  the  country  becomes  wilder, 
and  the  settlements  rarer  and  less  flourishing ; on  the  east  bank  we 
have  the  province  of  Corrientes,  still  one  of  the  least  secure  in  the 


352 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


Republic  ; and  on  the  west  bank  the  Gran  Chaco,  that  famous  un- 
explored territory  of  swamp  and  woods,  which  has  already  devoured 
men  and  money  beyond  calculation,  and  remains  still  the  dominion  of 
mosquitoes  and  frogs. 

After  leaving  Esquina,  we  steamed  along  without  incident  until 
past  midnight,  when,  in  spite  of  the  skill  and  vigilance  of  the  pilots, 
the  Olympo  ran  aground  in  the  Yaguarete  Pass,  one  of  the  most  diffi- 
cult parts  of  the  river,  owing  to  shoals  and  shifting  sand-banks.  Bv 
filling  the  boats  astern  with  water,  and  by  hauling  on  a kedge  anchor, 
the  captain  managed  to  get  the  ship  afloat  and  started  afresh,  but  in  a 
few  minutes  she  was  stuck  again  ; in  despair  the  anchor  was  lowered, 
and  we  waited  until  morning,  when  we  got  off  without  difficulty,  and  at 
io  a.m.  reached  Goya,  676  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres.  The  town  is  sit- 
uated inland,  up  a beautiful  river  lined  with  fine  trees.  At  the  mouth 
of  the  river  are  two  or  three  ranchos , a few  schooners  at  anchor,  and  a 
small  steamer  that  comes  to  take  on  passengers  and  a cargo  of  wine, 
flour,  and  canned  tomatoes  from  Genoa.  It  seems  strange  to  carry  to- 
matoes from  Italy  to  the  heart  of  South  America,  the  more  so  as  the 
tomato  flourishes  in  the  province  of  Corrientes ; the  cultivation,  howev- 
er, is  not  sufficient  for  the  market.  For  that  matter,  in  all  these  new 
colonies  and  settlements,  so  much  vaunted  for  their  fertility,  and  in  the 
old-established  towns,  too,  good  fruit  and  vegetables  are  rare  and  dear. 
Fruit  well -grown,  fine- flavored,  and  of  clean  and  agreeable  aspect,  is 
with  difficulty  to  be  found  even  in  the  markets  of  the  capital.  People 
are  only  just  beginning  to  pay  attention  to  this  profitable  branch  of 
culture,  which  has  the  disadvantage  of  demanding  incessant  care. 

At  noon  we  leave  Goya,  and  at  a beautiful  spot  called  Rincon  de 
Soto  we  noticed  the  first  orange-groves,  loaded  with  golden  fruit.  At 
this  point  the  river  narrows  from  3000  yards  until  at  one  pass  it  is 
not  more  than  200  yards  across.  The  vegetation  is  luxuriant,  and  the 
trees  often  attain  a height  of  fifty  and  sixty  feet,  though  most  of  them 
are  lower.  The  ground  on  the  Chaco  side  is  swampy  and  covered 
with  thick  jungle  and  climbing  plants  that  cling  to  the  trunks  and 
branches  of  the  trees,  and  literally  drag  them  down.  Along  the  shore 
are  hundreds  of  flamingoes,  storks,  and  turkey- buzzards,  which  con- 
gregate particularly  in  the  many  creeks  and  affluents  that  run  into  the 
main  stream  between  banks  overhung  with  soft  velvety  vegetation  of 
trees  and  flowers  almost  too  pretty  to  seem  real.  And  yet,  except  for 
the  wood  which  cannot  yet  be  economically  utilized,  these  islands 


UP  THE  RIVER  PARANA. 


353 


and  plains  of  thp  Chaco  are  without  profit  to  man;  they  can  neither 
be  inhabited  nor  cultivated  because  many  months  out  of  the  year  they 
are  under  water.  On  the  Corrientes  side,  after  an  interval  of  low  prai- 
rie, the  bluffs  have  reappeared,  and  rise  to  a height  of  forty  or  fifty  feet, 
composed  of  strata  of  yellow  and  white  sand  and  clay,  with  a layer  of 
black  vegetable  earth  and  pasturage  on  the  top.  This  soft  barranca 
is  being  continually  eaten  away  by  the  river,  which  thus  goes  on  wid- 
ening its  course  and  piling  up  sand-banks,  first  in  one  place,  and  then 
in  another,  now  making  a new  island,  and  now  washing  it  away. 

The  next  halting-place  is  San  Vicente,  on  the  Chaco  side,  the  port 
of  the  Ocampo  colony,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  forty  kilometres 
of  railway;  and  then  at  6 p.m.  we  reach  Bella  Vista,  738  miles  from 
Buenos  Ayres,  splendidly  situated  on  a high  plateau  commanding  a 
view  over  the  Parana,  and  surrounded  by  luxuriant  orange-groves. 
The  town  is  of  the  usual  Argentine  provincial  type,  and  consists  of  a 
huge  plaza  and  a chess-board  arrangement  of  sandy  streets.  A large 
proportion  of  the  inhabitants  are  French.  The  port  is  of  a primitive 
nature,  and  consists  mainly  of  an  old  hulk  anchored  off  the  shore, 
which  the  lazy  bullock-carts  reach  by  means  of  a steep  descent  from 
the  top  of  the  barranca.  The  mixed  Latin  nature  of  the  inhabitants 
is  indicated  by  the  two  hostleries  near  the  shore,  which  bear  the  titles 
respectively  of  “Restaurant  des  Bons  Amis”  and  “Fonda  Italiana.” 
After  staying  two  hours  to  discharge  cargo,  we  start  at  8 p.m.,  by  the 
dim  light  of  the  crescent  moon  that  sheds  a crinkled  band  of  silver 
across  the  river,  which  has  here  once  more  become  a stream  of  vast 
breadth.  Every  day  and  every  night  I marvel  more  and  more  at  the 
skill  of  the  pilots,  who  thread  their  way  amid  the  shoals  and  sand- 
banks, trusting  solely  to  the  acuteness  of  their  vision  and  to  their  con- 
stant observation  of  every  inch  of  the  river.  The  only  thing  that  can 
stop  them  is  fog ; otherwise,  they  go  on  day  and  night,  perched  in 
their  pilot-house  on  the  upper  deck,  always  on  the  watch,  modifying 
the  course  of  the  ship  almost  every  minute,  now  going  straight  ahead, 
now  crossing  from  one  bank  to  the  other,  now  describing  a curve  or  an 
S.  At  night  the  pilot-house  remains  dark  ; a dim  light  only  is  placed 
inside  the  compass-box,  and  another  very  dim  one  inside  the  dial  of 
the  telegraph  that  communicates  with  the  engine-room.  No  light 
is  allowed  on  the  foredeck— not  so  much  as  the  striking  of  a match  ; 
the  eyes  of  the  pilots  must  not  be  dazzled  even  momentarily,  because 
they  steer  entirely  by  sight  and  memory,  watching  every  ripple  and 

23 


354 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


eddy  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  occasionally  casting  the  lead  for 
purposes  of  security  and  verification,  the  soundings  in  all  the  difficult 

parts  being  re- 
corded in  the  log 
of  each  steamer 
of  the  company 
both  on  the  up- 
ward and  the 
downward  voy- 
age, and  commu- 
nicated to  the  pi- 
lots of  the  other 
ships  of  the  same 
line.  These  men 
are,  with  very  few 
exceptions,  Ital- 
ians, or,  at  any 
rate,  born  in  La 
Boca  of  Italian 
parents.  La  Boca, 
still  the  great 
port  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  in  spite  of 
the  grand  new 

JUAREZ  CELMAN  PORT.  - . . 

docks,  is  practi- 
cally an  Italian 

town,  and  almost  all  the  coasting  traffic  of  the  Republic  is  in  the 
hands  of  Italians,  who  begin  as  boys  on  board  the  coasting  and  river 
schooners,  and  gradually  rise  to  be  masters  and  owners.  Our  two 
pilots  had  been  on  the  Parana  ever  since  they  were  boys,  and  for 
years  had  worked  on  schooners  such  as  we  saw  tacking  up  and  down 
the  river.  These  boats  sail  up  a reach,  and  then,  in  order  to  get  round 
a point  or  a bend  and  catch  the  breeze  again,  they  lower  their  skiff, 
send  the  boy  ashore  to  tie  a line  to  a tree,  and  immediately  haul  on 
the  line  until  the  sails  swell,  and  another  reach  can  be  traversed. 
To  go  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  Asuncion  in  this  way  requires  several 
months,  but  the  journey  is  an  excellent  lesson  for  the  future  pilots.* 


* The  Platense  Company  pay  their  pilots  $230  (paper)  a month.  The  first  engineer  re- 
ceives $250  (paper),  and  the  senior  captains  $175  (gold).  The  Platense  is  a Scotch  com- 


UP  THE  RIVER  PARANA. 


355 


After  leaving  Bella  Vista,  we  anchored  and  waited  until  daylight  in 
order  to  pass  a difficult  point.  At  Empedrado  we  stayed  a few  min- 
utes only  to  land  the  mails,  and  at  2 p.m.  we  reached  Juarez  Celman, 
on  the  Chaco  side,  a new  settlement,  and  the  port  of  the  colony  of 
Resistencia.  It  being  the  25th  of  May — Independence  Day — the 
flags  were  flying  on  board  and  on  shore,  where  a full  - rigged  staff 
stood  in  front  of  the  Custom-house.  Juarez  Celman  consists  of  four 
houses,  a cafe,  and  a rose -colored  shed,  with  a corrugated  iron  roof, 
blue  windows,  a green  door,  and  the  inscription,  “ Inmigracion.  Colo- 
nizadora  Popular.”  On  shore  we  see  a couple  of  broken-down  car- 
riages, some  heaps  of  wood,  a few  men,  women,  and  children  loafing, 
the  captain  of  the  port  and  his  crew  of  marines — most  of  them  colored 
men — and  in  the  distance  the  flat  prairie  and  the  brown  road  leading 
to  distant  and  solitary  Resistencia.  This  vision  was  interesting  as  a 
specimen  of  how  great  things  begin. 

The  same  afternoon,  at  3 p.m.,  we  reached  Corrientes,  832  miles 
from  Buenos  Ayres,  a town  of  20,000  inhabitants,  and  one  of  the  old- 
est in  the  Republic.  The  streets  are  sandy,  and  one  only  is  completely 
paved  ; the  houses  are  partly  modern  and  uninteresting,  and  partly  old 
colonial  dwellings,  with  palm-tree  pillars,  broad  verandas,  small  win- 
dows protected  by  wooden  gratings,  and  roofs  of  bark  instead  of  tiles. 
The  church  is  of  the  ordinary  Spanish -American  style.  The  plaza 
is  large,  and  surrounded  by  the  usual  monuments — the  Government 
house  (a  modern  pile,  in  the  favorite  Argentino- Corinthian  style),  the 
cabildo , and  the  barracks;  and  in  the  centre  the  usual  column  in  com- 
memoration of  the  declaration  of  independence.  One  is  struck  by  the 
number  of  Indians  seen  in  the  streets  of  Corrientes.  The  majority  of 
the  inhabitants,  I was  told,  speak  the  Indian  Guarani  dialect  rather 
than  Spanish.  On  the  two  occasions  when  I spent  a few  hours  in  the 
town  business  was  reported  to  be  at  a stand-still,  owing  to  the  want  of 

pany.  The  ships  are  built  at  Glasgow  ; the  captains  and  crews  are  foreigners  ; some  of  the 
pursers  alone  are  Argentines.  The  Olympo , which  carries  240  first-class  and  eighty  second- 
class  passengers,  was  commanded  byaNorth-American;  the  crew  were  Austrians  for  the  most 
part ; the  waiters,  Italians  ; the  pilots,  Italians  ; and  the  engineers,  English.  The  Spanish- 
Americans  on  the  east  coast  do  not  seem  to  be  able  to  manage  railways  and  steam-boats 
any  more  than  their  brethren  on  the  west  coast,  where  the  same  phenomena  are  observa- 
ble. Another  curious  detail  is  that  the  ports  of  the  Parana  have  no  resident  stevedores. 
When  an  ocean  steamer  arrives  with  cargo  for  San  Nicolas  or  Rosario,  it  takes  stevedores 
on  board  at  Montevideo,  where  a Swedish  contractor  provides  gangs  as  required.  These 
men  are  mostly  Scandinavians  and  Germans,  together  with  a few  runaway  English  sailors. 
They  earn  about  five  dollars  (gold)  a day  and  their  food. 


356 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


money. 

reason. 


The  inhabitants  had  even  ceased  to  pay  taxes  for  the  same 
The  governor  and  the  captain  of  the  port  were  described 

as  tyrants  and 
scamps,  who  put 
every  obstacle  in 
the  way  of  com- 
merce and  nav- 
igation. The 
streets  were  said 
to  be  unsafe  af- 
ter dark,  and  sev- 
eral benighted 
European  resi- 
dents assured  me 
that  the  Corri- 
entinos  are  very 
bad  people,  ow- 
ing to  the  large 
admixture  of  In- 
dian blood.  It  is  in  their  nature  to  be 
idle  and  bad ; and  the  more  intelligent  of 
them  admit  the  fact,  and  insinuate  that 
they  are  victims  of  determinism.  All  this 
is  very  strange,  in  truth,  but  from  what  I 
saw  and  heard  elsewhere,  the  authorities 
and  many  of  the  inhabitants  of  Mendoza, 
Cordoba,  Santa  Fe,  and  other  provincial  towns  are  not  much  bet- 
ter than  their  colleagues  of  Corrientes. 

O 


- 


VILLAGE  ON  THE  PARAGUAY 
RIVER. 


The  river  at  Corrientes  is  three  miles  broad,  and  navigable  for 
vessels  of  nine  feet  draught.  The  port  ships  hides,  sugar  from  Posa- 
das, and  tobacco  and  mate  from  the  Alto  Parana.  The  stevedores 
here  are  terrible  men  to  deal  with;  they  are  like  the  Indians,  who 
will  work  to  satisfy  a caprice,  but  not  regularly;  they  work  until  they 
have  earned  the  money  to  buy  a poncho , a watch,  or  some  other  ob- 
ject of  luxury  that  has  caught  their  eye  in  a store,  and  then  neither 
money  nor  persuasion  can  move  them. 

We  leave  Corrientes  at  6 p.m.,  and  at  a distance  of  eighteen  miles 
reach  the  Tres  Bocas,  the  confluence  of  the  Paraguay  and  Parana 
rivers.  In  broad  daylight  it  is  curious  to  observe  the  two  streams  at 


UP  THE  RIVER  PARANA. 


357 


the  point  where  a long  sandy  spit  marks  their  junction.  The  waters 
of  the  Parana  are  of  a dirty  green  color,  while  those  of  the  Paraguay 
are  yellowish -brown,  and  for  several  miles  the  two  mighty  streams 
flow  parallel  and  unmixed,  the  meeting  of  the  two  being  marked  by  a 
long  line  of  foam,  forming,  as  it  were,  a white  cord  stretching  down 
the  middle  of  the  river,  and  separating  the  green  waters  from  the 
brown  waters.  The  Parana  makes  a sharp  turn  eastward,  and,  under 
the  name  of  Alto  Parana,  may  be  followed  on  the  map  up  to  about 
the  nineteenth  parallel  of  latitude,  where  it  is  formed  by  the  conflu- 
ence of  the  two  rivers  Paranahyba  and  Rio  Grande.  A few  leagues 
lower  down,  the  course  of  the  stream  is  interrupted  by  the  cataract  of 
Urubupunga.  PTom  this  point  it  runs  south -south -west  until  the 
twenty-fourth  parallel,  where  it  is  again  interrupted  by  the  cataract  of 
Guayra.  The  region  traversed  thus  far  belongs  to  Brazil,  and  was 
occupied  by  Jesuit  “reductions”  in  the  sixteenth  century.  Doubt- 
less, in  the  more  or  less  distant  future,  when  ways  of  communication 
have  been  created,  all  this  fertile  territory  will  once  more  be  occupied. 
At  the  cataract  of  Guayra  the  frontier  of  Paraguay  begins,  and  the 
river  runs  from  north  to  south,  bounding  the  Republic,  and  then  from 
east  to  west,  until  it  joins  the  Paraguay,  as  above  described.  The  few 
travellers  who  have  seen  the  cataract  of  Guayra  describe  the  falls  as 
being  as  fine  as  those  of  Niagara,  but  unfortunately  they  are  still  in 
the  midst  of  solitudes  to  which  access  is  difficult.  The  Salto  de  Vic- 
toria, some  twenty  miles  from  the  confluence  of  the  Y-Guazu  and  the 
Parana,  is  also  said  to  be  very  magnificent  and  somewhat  easier  of 
access,  but  as  yet  few  travellers  have  seen  it.  The  navigation  of  the 
Alto  Parana  is  difficult,  but  practicable  up  to  a certain  point.  The 
Platense  Company  runs  a passenger  steamer  three  times  a month 
from  Corrientes  to  Posadas  and  intermediate  ports — Lomas,  Santa 
Isabel,  Ituzaingo.  Posadas,  on  the  Corrientes  side,  is  225  miles  from 
the  confluence  of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay  rivers.  From  Posadas  a 
smaller  steamer  of  the  same  company  runs  twice  a month  up  to 
Tacuru-Pucu,  a few  miles  above  the  confluence  of  the  Y-Guazu,  and 
about  four  hundred  miles  from  Corrientes.  Beyond  this  point  no 
screw  or  paddle  steamer  has  been  able  to  conquer  the  rapids,  currents, 
and  eddies.  The  whole  of  the  banks  of  the  Alto  Parana,  from  Villa 
Encarnacion  up  to  the  Salto  de  Guayra,  are  covered  with  forests  of 
ycrba  mate,  or  Paraguayan  tea,  and  the  chief  traffic  is  the  transport  of 
this  article.  Not  being  able  to  sacrifice  the  five  or  six  weeks  or  more 


358 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


necessary  for  a trip  into  these  solitudes,  which  are  said  to  be  grandly 
picturesque,  I remained,  not  without  regret,  on  board  the  Olympo , 
which  being  bound  for  Asuncion,  continued  northward  up  the  Para- 
guay River,  passing  Humaita,  884  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres,  a place 
famous  in  the  annals  of  the  Paraguayan  war,  the  disasters  of  which 
are  still  testified  by  the  ruins  of  a large  church.  The  next  morning 
we  stopped  at  Villa  Pilar,  and  then  at  Formosa,  an  Argentine  military 
frontier  station,  and  the  seat  of  the  Governor  of  the  Chaco. 


CABILDO  AND  PLAZA  AT  CORRIENTES. 


The  scenery  of  the  Paraguay  River  is  charming ; the  banks  are 
covered  with  luxuriant  forests  full  of  parrots,  monkeys,  and  birds;  the 
numerous  affluents,  fringed  with  trees  that  are  reflected  in  the  glassy 
water,  are  beautiful  and  soft  as  English  country  landscape.  The  com- 
parison, however,  cannot  be  carried  into  detail,  for  the  muddy  and 
sandy  banks  of  the  affluents,  as  well  as  of  the  main  stream,  are  black 
with  large  and  small  alligators  basking  in  the  sun.  So  we  steam 


UP  THE  RIVER  PARANA. 


359 


along  past  orange-groves,  broad  plains  dotted  with  dwarf  palms,  thick 
jungle,  and  forest,  where  the  trees  are  inextricably  linked  together  by 
creepers  and  lianes.  Occasionally  on  the  Paraguayan  side,  where  the 
ground  is  always  elevated  a reasonable  height  above  the  river,  while 
on  the  Chaco  side  it  is  low  and  swampy,  we  note  a few  cottages, 
orange-groves,  cattle,  and  women  robed  in  white  and  carrying  pitchers 
on  their  heads.  At  Villeta,  in  order  to  deliver  a few  letters  we  are 
obliged  to  cast  anchor,  a formality  exacted  by  the  Paraguayan  captain 
of  the  port,  who  would  raise  a diplomatic  incident  and  a case  of  falta 
de  respeto  if  the  steamer  did  not  stop,  blow  the  whistle,  and  let  down 
the  gangway  instead  of  simply  hoisting  the  mail -bag  over  the  rail. 
Then  we  pass  San  Antonio  and  San  Lorenzo,  sight  the  hill,  or  Cerro 
de  Lambare,  anchor  in  the  bay  of  Asuncion  at  io  p.m.  on  Monday, 
May  26th,  and  the  next  morning  we  are  allowed  to  land  after  the  due 
visit  of  the  sanitary  and  port  authorities.  The  distance  between 
Asuncion  and  Buenos  Ayres  is  1 1 15  miles,  and  the  journey  up  stream 
takes  six  days,  more  or  less,  owing  to  stoppages  and  accidents,  such 
for  instance  as  fogs,  which  are  frequent  during  the  winter  season,  and 
the  inevitable  delays  due  to  running  aground  when  the  river  is  low.* 

* The  attention  of  the  reader  is  particularly  called  to  the  difficulty  of  the  navigation  of 
the  Parana  River,  and  to  the  strange  discrepancy  between  the  above  exact  account,  and 
the  fantastic  statements  published  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  States  Government,  in 
a volume  entitled,  Trade  and  Transportation  between  the  United  States  and  Spanish  Amer- 
ica, by  William  Eleroy  Curtis.  (Washington.  Government  Printing-office.  1889.)  Speak- 
ing of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata,  Mr.  Curtis  says  : “ The  tide  from  the  Atlantic  reaches  260  miles 
up  the  stream,  and  ocean  ships  of  24  feet  draught  can  find  water  enough  the  whole  year  at 
a distance  of  1000  miles  from  its  mouth.  Vessels  of  from  16  to  20  feet  draught  can  go  2700 
miles  into  the  interior  of  the  continent,  and  a comparatively  small  amount  of  money — a 
mere  fraction  of  the  sum  that  has  been  spent  upon  the  Mississippi — will  furnish  a path  for 
a 4000-ton  vessel  from  New  York  or  Liverpool  to  the  very  heart  of  Brazil,  by  way  of  Bue- 
nos Ayres.”  These  statements  are  grotesquely  erroneous.  The  limit  of  draught  for  ships 
going  only  as  far  as  Rosario,  300  miles  by  water  from  Buenos  Ayres,  is  15  feet.  During  the 
winter  it  often  happens  that  vessels  of  nine  feet  draught  cannot  reach  Asuncion,  but  have 
to  stop  at  Villeta.  No  amount  of  money  will  be  able  to  improve  the  navigation  of  the 
Parana — the  river  to  which  Mr.  Curtis’s  remarks  apply,  although  he  calls  it  wrongly  the 
Rio  de  la  Plata.  The  only  thing  that  can  be  done  is  the  dredging  of  the  Martin  Garcia 
Channel.  The  shifting  sand-banks  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata  and  of  the  Parana  are  quite  be- 
yond the  control  of  engineering  skill.  I may  note  in  passing  that  hardly  a page  of  the  vol- 
ume above  referred  to  is  without  errors  both  in  figures  and  in  facts,  and  one  of  the  most 
stupendously  misleading  documents  contained  in  it  is  a report  signed  John  E.  Bacon, 
United  States  Minister  to  Uruguay,  on  the  Intercontinental  Railway.  This  document  has, 
I understand,  been  much  quoted  in  recent  discussions  of  that  dream  of  the  remote  future, 
and  it  is  curious  that  no  one  has  yet  pointed  out  its  absurdity.  In  the  actual  condition  of 
South  America  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  collect  trustworthy  data,  and  those  who  trust  to 
hearsay  and  to  sedentary  compilation  must  fatally  fall  into  error  and  confusion. 


360 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


From  Asuncion  a small  steamer  of  the  Platense  Company  runs 
once  a week  as  far  as  Villa  Concepcion,  a distance  of  234  miles.  On 
the  left  bank  of  the  river  the  ground  is  high  and  beautifully  wooded ; 
while  on  the  right  bank  are  the  low  wastes  of  the  Paraguayan  Chaco. 
The  bay  of  Asuncion  spreads  out  at  the  foot  of  the  hills  of  Mangrullo 
and  La  Recoleta,  which  are  dotted  with  white  edifices  half  buried  in 
verdure.  We  pass  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Confuso,  which  winds  across 
the  Chaco,  and  whose  waters  are  as  salt  as  those  of  the  sea ; then  we 
halt  at  Villa  Hayes — a colony  of  the  Chaco,  not  very  prosperous — 
pass  the  rock  of  Penon  that  rises  in  the  midst  of  the  river,  note  the 
mouths  of  the  rivers  Salado  and  Piribebuy,  Tapiracuay  and  Capiipobo, 
and  so  reach  the  little  port  of  Rosario,  situated  on  a lofty  barranca 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Quarepoty,  and  separated  from  the  town 
by  marshes  that  are  not  easy  to  cross.  Above  Rosario  we  pass  the 
mouths  of  several  rivers  whose  geography  is  little  known,  and  halt  at 
Barranquerita,  a small  port,  whence  a road  leads  to  the  town  of  San 
Pedro,  placed  on  the  banks  of  the  Jejuy,  the  mouth  of  which  is  some 
three  leagues  higher  up;  and  at  about  forty  miles  from  San  Pedro  we 
reach  Villa  Concepcion,  situated  immediately  north  of  the  Tropic  of 
Capricorn.  So  far  the  scenery  is  soft  and  charming,  the  few  towns 
without  any  interest  after  one  has  seen  Asuncion,  and  the  country 
generally  very  thinly  inhabited.  In  the  stretches  between  the  ports  a 
house  or  a human  being  are  rare  sights. 

Above  Villa  Concepcion  the  river  Paraguay  continues  to  be  navi- 
gable through  the  Brazilian  territory  of  Matto  Grosso,  to  the  capital 
of  which  province,  Cuyaba,  a steamer  makes  periodical  voyages  at  the 
expense  of  the  Brazilian  Government,  following  the  Paraguay  River  to 
its  confluence  with  the  Rio  Lourenzo,  on  an  affluent  of  which,  the 
Rio  Cuyaba,  the  town  of  the  same  name,  is  situated.  The  distance 
between  Cuyaba  and  Buenos  Ayres  is  some  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred miles. 

Although  the  rivers  Parana  and  Paraguay  are  navigated  by  a reg- 
ular service  of  steamers  that  offer  fair  and  even  satisfactory  accommo- 
dation to  passengers,  their  course  still  lies  through  immense  solitudes, 
which  seem  to  have  been  discovered  too  soon.  The  whole  right  bank 
of  the  river  from  Santa  Fe  to  Brazil  gives  one  the  impression  of  some- 
thing incipient,  of  an  expanse  of  the  earth  which  Nature  has  not  yet 
completed  and  made  ready  for  the  foot  of  man.  The  Argentine 
Chaco,  even  more  than  the  Paraguayan  Chaco,  appears  to  be  still  in 


LOADING  ORANGES  AT  SAN  ANTONIO. 


UP  THE  RIVER  PARANA. 


363 


formation ; the  land  is  hardly  a few  inches  above  low-water-level,  and 
is  still  struggling  against  the  river,  now  losing  ground,  and  now  gain- 
ing ; the  vegetation,  rank  and  luxurious,  is  thick  jungle  and  heavy 
grass,  which  Nature  is  growing  in  the  hope  that  in  the  course  of  hun- 
dreds of  years  the  decayed  matter  will  form  a layer  of  soil  on  the 
sandy  basis  of  plain  and  marsh.  The  attempt  to  found  colonies  in 
this  solitude  seems  sacrilege,  as  it  were  a prying  into  Nature’s  labora- 
tory, where  hitherto  the  Indian,  the  puma,  the  jaguar,  the  rose  flamin- 
go, and  myriads  of  insects  have  alone  enjoyed  the  right  of  roving. 
However,  the  Argentines  seem  bent  upon  making  the  experiment,  as 
is  shown  by  the  various  colonies  dotted  along  the  river  between  Re- 
conquista  and  Formosa,  which  points  are  now  being  connected  by  450 
kilometres  of  railway,  in  prolongation  of  the  existing  line  from  Santa 
Fe  to  Reconquista. 

The  return  voyage  down  stream  from  Asuncion  to  Campana  took 
five  days  and  nights,  and  afforded  no  incidents  of  special  interest,  ex- 
cept an  opportunity  of  studying  the  orange  trade,  and  a chance  of 
making  further  acquaintance  with  the  towns  and  colonies  of  the 
Chaco,  Santa  Fe,  Corrientes,  and  Entre  Rios.  The  two  principal 
ports  for  shipping  oranges  are  San  Lorenzo  and  San  Antonio.  We 
stayed  at  the  latter,  a lovely  spot  on  the  Paraguay  River,  with  a strand 
of  yellow  sand,  banks  fringed  with  lilies,  and  in  the  background  trees, 
some  of  them  forming  masses  of  lilac  bloom.  The  port  consists  of  a 
square  of  sand,  with  the  cabin  and  flag  of  the  custom-house,  or  Res- 
guardo , and  a short  wooden  jetty  to  the  right,  a roughly-traced  road 
leading  into  the  interior  past  a sort  of  store,  or  tambo ; and  to  the  left 
a large  tent  stretched  over  palm  poles,  with  a lattice  floor  made  of 
bamboo.  This  tent  was  full  of  oranges ; on  the  sand  outside  were 
other  mountains  of  oranges ; and  carts  drawn  by  yokes  of  two  or  four 
oxen,  preceded  by  the  driver,  wearing  a long  poncho  and  carrying  a 
bamboo  goad,  kept  groaning  and  creaking  down  the  slope,  and  de- 
positing other  golden  piles  along  the  beach.  Under  the  shady  curtain 
of  trees  were  seated  groups  of  men,  women,  and  children,  with  or- 
anges, bananas,  mandioca , parrots,  blue-jays,  and  monkeys,  which  they 
hope  to  sell,  but  at  the  same  time  make  no  effort  to  offer  their  mer- 
chandise, preferring  to  remain  calm  and  indifferent,  sucking  mate 
through  silver  bombillas. 

The  steamer  is  moored  alongside,  and  a long  gangway  of  planks 
is  laid  on  high  trestles  from  the  paddle-box  to  the  shore ; then,  when 


364 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


all  is  ready,  about  six- 
ty women  and  girls  and 
ten  men  set  to  work, 
some  to  carry  baskets 
full  of  oranges,  others 
to  hand  the  baskets 
from  beside  the  paddle- 
box  to  the  upper  deck, 
others  to  pass  the  bas- 
kets on  from  this  point 
to  the  corral  or  enclos- 
ure that  has  been  built 
behind  the  pilot-house, 
and  others  still  to  pass 
down  the  empty  baskets.  The 
carrying  is  all  done  by  women, 
who  form  a procession  passing 
continuously  up  and  down  the 
gangway,  and  generally  at  a run. 
They  are  Paraguayans,  Guaranis, 
and  other  Indians  and  mulattoes 
of  various  shades,  clad  in  white, 
rose,  scarlet,  yellow,  and  other 
bright- colored  Manchester  cot- 
ton stuffs  ; all  are  barefooted,  and 
most  of  them  are  without  beauty, 
but  gay,  and  ready  to  laugh  and 
scream  without  pretext,  merely 
for  the  sake  of  being  lively  and 
making  a noise.  They  are  like 
birds  and  monkeys.  Hour  after 
hour  this  operation  goes  on. 
Women  and  young  girls  alike  have  cigars  in  their  mouths  in  the 
usual  Paraguayan  fashion.  The  rapid  movement  of  brightly-clad  fig- 
ures passing  in  opposite  directions,  with  the  glare  of  the  yellow  mount- 
ains of  oranges  and  of  the  dazzling  white  tent  on  the  shore,  ends  by 
hypnotizing  one,  and  yet  the  scene  is  so  original  that  one  continues 
to  watch  it  in  spite  of  one’s  self.  For  that  matter,  there  is  nothing 
else  to  do.  The  village,  buried  in  orange-trees,  is  soon  visited;  to 


UP  THE  RIVER  PARANA. 


365 


walk  for  any  distance  along  the  river  is  rendered  difficult  by  the  over- 
hanging trees ; and  so  one  remains  leaning  over  the  rail,  and  watch- 
ing the  women  and  girls  toiling,  while  the  men — husbands,  fathers,  or 
brothers — loaf  on  the  shore,  smoke  and  play  cards,  according  to  the 
custom  of  Paraguay,  where  the  women  do  the  work  while  the  men  en- 
joy life.  The  steamer  was  supposed  to  take  250,000  oranges;  but 
there  being  no  means  of  control,  it  is  probable  that,  in  order  to  allow 
for  loss,  the  shipper  put  on  board  at  least  300,000.  These  oranges,  of 
fine  flavor  and  aspect,  are  worth  one  Paraguayan  dollar  a thousand  at 
San  Antonio.  The  women,  who  carry  the  baskets  on  their  heads, 
are  paid  eighty  centavos  a day,  and  the  harvest  of  the  fruit  lasts  eight 
months,  beginning  at  the  end  of  May.  The  freight  from  Paraguay  to 
Campana,  and  from  Campana  by  schooner  to  La  Boca,  together  with 
the  loss  from  putrefaction  and  rough  handling  during  the  journey, 
brings  the  retail  price  of  a good  orange  in  Buenos  Ayres  to  about 
two  cents. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


HE  Republic  of  Paraguay  has  hitherto  been  one  of  the  least 


known  of  the  South-American  States.  Situated  in  the  heart 


of  the  continent,  and  communicating  with  the  sea  only  by  the  inter- 
mediary of  the  Parana  River,  it  has  remained  a far-away  country — for- 
gotten, unvisited,  unexplored.  And  yet  in  the  old  days  its  territory 
was  the  centre  of  all  the  operations  of  the  Europeans  on  the  Atlantic 
coast  of  America. 

During  the  early  period  of  the  Spanish  occupation  the  settlers 
found  hospitality  in  Paraguay  sooner  than  on  the  more  accessible 
banks  of  the  river  Plate,  while  its  fertility,  climate,  and  geographical 
position  recommended  it  to  the  Jesuits  for  the  establishment  of  their 
“ reductions,”  and  for  the  essay  of  a system  of  communism  which 
gave  admirable  results  from  the  point  of  view  of  collective  felicity. 
During  two  hundred  years  the  settlements  of  the  Jesuits  prospered. 
In  1764  the  Order  was  expelled;  and  when  the  architects  left  it,  the 
communistic  edifice,  within  whose  pleasant  precincts  the  native  Gua- 
rani population  had  learned  the  elements  of  a simple  and  almost 
idyllic  civilization,  fell  into  ruins,  and  the  whole  country  and  the  peo- 
ple quickly  declined.  In  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  when 
the  independence  movement  deprived  the  crown  of  Spain  of  its 
American  colonies,  Paraguay  did  not  join  in  the'  generous  and  co-op- 
erative work  of  liberty,  but  shut  itself  up  within  its  frontiers,  trusting 
to  its  wealth,  and  wishing  to  owe  nothing  to  its  neighbors.  This  pol- 
icy was  that  of  the  dictator  Francia  and  of  his  successors,  Lopez  I. 
and  Lopez  II.,  whose  despotic  rule,  from  the  beginning  of  the  century 
up  to  1870,  was  virtually  a continuation  of  the  Jesuit  system  of  State 
communism,  minus  the  religious  and  recreative  elements.  Critics 
who  persist  in  considering  universal  suffrage  to  be  the  last  word  of 
political  science  have  severely  condemned  these  despots.  The  fact, 
however,  remains  that  under  their  rule  Paraguay  reached  a high  de- 
gree of  wealth  and  material  well-being,  and  threatened  to  assume  a 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


367 


supremacy  which  alarmed  its  neighbors.  The  result  of  this  uneasi- 
ness and  jealousy  was  the  war  of  the  triple  alliance  of  Brazil,  Uru- 
guay, and  the  Argentine  against  Paraguay,  which  began  in  1864  and 
lasted  five  years,  ending  in  the  ruin  of  the  latter  country,  and  in  the 
almost  complete  annihilation  of  the  young  and  adult  male  population, 
and  leaving  in  the  land  none  but  women  and  aged  men.  Of  the 
riches  and  prosperity  of  Paraguay  there  remained  no  vestiges ; the 
army  and  fleet  were  destroyed;  ruin  and  misery  were  on  all  sides; 
the  conquerors  had  only  to  divide  the  spoils  after  Lopez  died,  with 
arms  in  his  hands,  at  Cerro  Cora,  on  March  1,  1870.  The  Paraguay- 
ans fought  like  heroes,  and  when,  from  want  of  men,  they  could 
fight  no  longer,  a handful  of  patriots  met  at  Asuncion,  formed  a 
triumvirate,  resisted  the  pressure  of  the  allies  in  the  sphere  of  di- 
plomacy, signed  a treaty  of  peace,  and  on  August  15,  1870,  opened  a 
Constituent  Assembly,  which  established  the  new  constitutional 
chart. 

During  more  than  twenty  years  this  Constitution  has  been  observed 
by  seven  successive  Presidents,  and  Paraguay  has  been  occupied  in 
the  slow  and  laborious  task  of  national  recuperation.  Meanwhile  all 
the  barriers  and  restrictions  established  by  the  preceding  Govern- 
ments were  abolished ; the  new  Constitution  declared  the  navigation 
of  the  rivers  to  be  free,  opened  the  frontiers,  gave  natives  and  foreign- 
ers alike  the  right  to  enter,  traverse,  or  leave  the  Republic  without  let 
or  hinderance  of  any  kind,  and  thus  placed  Paraguay  in  communica- 
tion with  the  rest  of  the  world.  But  rumor  had  represented  the 
country  to  be  absolutely  destroyed,  and  for  the  next  ten  years  very 
few  travellers  took  the  trouble  to  go  a thousand  miles  up  the  river  to 
see  for  themselves,  so  that  the  outside  world  continued  in  almost  com- 
plete ignorance  about  the  actual  state  of  Paraguay;  and  even  now 
very  few  people  have  other  than  vague  ideas  as  to  the  aspect,  condi- 
tion, and  resources  of  the  Republic.  At  present,  actuated  by  the  ex- 
ample of  the  Argentine,  Paraguay  is  anxious  to  make  efforts  towards 
progress.  The  rapid  development  of  the  neighboring  republics,  the 
occupation  of  the  more  accessible  territory,  the  fever  of  speculation, 
the  consequent  inflated  prices  of  land,  and  the  excessive  dearness  of 
existence  in  general,  have  rendered  colonization  more  and  more  diffi- 
cult, while  at  the  same  time  other  enterprises  by  which  fortunes  are 
rapidly  made  in  newly- developed  countries  are  becoming  rarer,  and 
the  profits  less  handsome.  This  is  the  case  more  especially  in  the 


368 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


Argentine  Republic,  as  was  amply  proven  by  the  crisis  of  1890.  The 
events  of  the  past  few  years  have  discredited  that  country,  and  the 
surplus  energy  and  capital  of  Europe  have  begun  to  look  around  for 
new  fields  of  activity,  among  which  Paraguay  figures,  very  modestly, 
it  is  true,  at  present,  but  nevertheless  there  is  a visible  commencement 
of  a new  era  in  that  country,  and  a strong  probability  that  European 
commercial  interests  will  gradually  be  developed  there  on  an  impor- 
tant scale.  This  will,  of  course,  be  the  work  of  years.  The  opening 
up  of  Paraguay  depends  upon  the  creation  of  a new  current  of  capital 
and  of  emigration,  which  require  time ; but  the  ultimate  occurrence 
of  this  phenomenon  is  inevitable  because  the  country  offers  the  two 
economical  conditions  essential  to  the  success  of  useful  European  im- 
migration, namely,  facility  of  cultivation  and  salubrity  of  climate.  It 
is  a country  destined  sooner  or  later  for  agricultural  colonization. 
Already  there  is  a vague  and  growing  rumor  whispering  to  the  ad- 
venturous that  “there  is  something  to  be  done  in  Paraguay.”  Soon 
we  may  hope  to  hear  that  much  is  being  done  in  Paraguay. 

The  observations  which  I made  of  agricultural  and  colonist  life  in 
Peru,  Chili,  the  Argentine,  and  Uruguay  were  sufficient  to  open  my 
eyes  to  the  difficulties  and  hardships  that  have  to  be  endured  even  in 
the  most  favored  spots.  There  is  nothing  roseate  or  idyllic  in  such 
an  existence.  To  describe  these  South-American  Republics  as  if  they 
'were  all  earthly  paradises,  where  the  settlers  live  in  “ Paul  and  Vir- 
ginia” landscapes  and  cultivate  sentiments  a la  “ Daphnis  and  Chloe,” 
is  a crime.  Unsophisticated  nature  is  always  terrible  and  full  of 
snares,  for  the  earth,  such  as  God  has  given  it  to  those  who  dwell 
upon  it,  is  hospitable  to  animals,  but  heartless  towards  men.  The  an- 
imals are  at  home  in  the  woods  and  caves ; in  order  to  live,  they  have 
only  to  graze,  to  hunt,  or  to  devour  each  other  according  to  their  in- 
stincts. As  for  man,  he  finds  neither  food  nor  lodging  ready  at  his 
hand,  and  only  by  dint  of  incessant  efforts,  patience,  invention,  imagi- 
nation, industry,  talent,  and  genius  does  he  succeed  in  establishing 
himself  in  a mediocre  manner,  not  worthy  of  the  qualities  he  displays. 
The  nearer  a man  is  to  a brute  beast,  the  happier  and  more  satisfied 
he  is  in  the  midst  of  the  hirsute  nature  of  the  New  World.  In  speak- 
ing of  Paraguay  I shall  not  allow  myself  to  be  led  astray  by  optimist 
views;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  shall  I seek  to  depreciate  it,  but  simply 
to  describe  what  I saw  there  and  to  record  faithfully  certain  facts  of 
interest  concerning  the  land  and  its  resources. 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


369 


From  the  point  of  view  of  the  economist,  Paraguay  is  situated 
within  the  most  favored  and  healthy  region  of  South  America.  Sup- 
posing the  continent  to  be  divided  into  three  districts,  we  find  that 
the  first  region  in  the  north,  watered  by  the  Orinoco  and  the  Ama- 
zon, is  equatorial,  torrid,  and  unhealthy  for  Europeans.  The  second 
region,  in  the  west,  is  that  of  the  Cordillera  and  the  Pacific  coast, 
where  the  nature  of  the  ground  is  unfavorable  to  agricultural  coloni- 
zation on  a large  scale,  where  the  greatest  wealth  is  mineral,  and 
where  half  the  territory  is  occupied  by  the  Chilians,  who  are  the  best- 
organized  and  most  civilized  nation  in  South  America  and  need  no 
immigration.  The  third  and  remaining  region  comprises  the  basin 
of  the  Parana  River,  the  southern  portion  of  Brazil,  the  Argentine 
Republic,  Paraguay,  Uruguay,  and  part  of  Bolivia;  in  short,  all  the 
country  south  of  latitude  20°  south.  This  eastern  zone  is  the  domain 
where  immigration  has  prospered  already,  and  where  it  is  likely  to 
prosper  in  the  future,  not  perhaps  on  such  a vast  scale  as  was  ob- 
served in  the  palmy  years  of  the  Argentine,  but  in  proportions  that 
will  be  more  durably  useful  as  they  will  be  more  rational. 

The  boundaries  of  Paraguay  have  been  misrepresented  on  most 
maps,  owing  to  the  want  of  surveys.  Placed  at  the  confluence  of  the 
rivers  Parana  and  Paraguay,  the  territory  of  the  Republic  is  divided 
by  the  course  of  this  latter  stream  into  two  distinct  parts — Paraguay 
proper  and  western  Paraguay,  or  the  Paraguayan  Chaco.  Bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  rivers  Apa  and  Estrella,  on  the  east  by  the  Cor- 
dilleras of  Amambay  and  Mbaracayu  and  the  river  Parana,  on  the 
south  by  the  river  Parana,  and  on  the  west  by  the  river  whence  it 
gets  its  name,  Paraguay  proper  extends  from  22°  to  270  south  lat- 
itude, and  from  56°  to  6o°  longitude  west  from  the  meridian  of  Paris. 
Western  Paraguay,  or  the  Paraguayan  Chaco,  extends  from  the  Pil- 
comayo  River  up  to  the  Bolivian  frontier,  latitude  250  20  south  to 
latitude  20  io'  south,  forming  a quadrilateral,  the  exact  limits  of 
which  have  not  yet  been  determined  geographically.  Paraguay 
proper  is  not  a mountainous  country,  but  its  surface  is  very  undu- 
lating and  traversed  by  various  hill  chains,  whose  summits  do  not 
exceed  five  hundred  metres.  The  lines  of  the  landscape  are  always 
soft  and  harmonious;  there  is  nothing  severe  or  sombre;  almost  every- 
where the  rock  is  covered  with  thick  masses  of  verdure;  and  the  gen- 
eral character  of  the  landscape  is  charming,  and  often  so  pretty  and 
perfectly  composed  that  it  suggests  the  work  of  a clever  scene-painter. 

24 


3/0 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


With  the  exception  of  parts  of  Peru,  Paraguay,  from  the  point  of  view 
of  scenery,  impressed  me  as  the  most  beautiful  and  charming  country 
that  I saw  south  of  the  equator.  The  interior  of  Paraguay  is  still 
little  known  to  geographers.  The  northern  and  eastern  parts  are  cov- 
ered with  immense  virgin  forests,  which  present  an  impenetrable  ob- 
stacle to  travellers.  Except  in  the  valley  between  the  towns  of  Asun- 
cion and  Villa  Encarnacion,  and  except  certain  roads  opened  across 
the  forests  of  yerba  mate , there  are  very  few  means  of  communication 
by  land.  The  traffic  is  mainly  carried  on  by  water,  and  the  centres 
of  population  are  almost  invariably  grouped  along  the  rivers.  At 
present  the  whole  life  of  the  Republic  seems  to  be  concentrated  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Paraguay  River,  which  is  always  open  to  naviga- 
tion, and  forms  the  great  natural  route  of  the  country.  The  other 
river  of  chief  importance  is  the  Parana,  along  which,  in  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries,  the  famous  Jesuit  missions  were  sit- 
uated. The  valley  of  the  Parana  is  quite  as  fertile  as  that  of  the 
Paraguay,  but  it  has  been  neglected  in  modern  times  because  it  is  not 
of  easy  access.  The  Jesuits,  it  will  be  remembered,  in  their  commu- 
nistic essays,  sought  to  isolate  their  neophytes  rather  than  to  bring 
them  into  contact  with  the  old  nations,  and  for  that  reason  they  did 
not  even  teach  them  Spanish,  but  themselves  learned  the  Guarani 
tongue,  while  at  the  same  time  they  located  their  States  in  the  vast 
solitudes  of  the  Parana.  On  the  other  hand,  after  the  expulsion  of  the 
Jesuits,  when  the  Spaniards  became  possessed  of  their  “ reductions,” 
the  aim  of  colonization  changed  under  the  new  masters,  and  the  scene 
changed  likewise.  The  Spanish  governors,  whose  only  object  was  to 
utilize  Indian  labor  for  their  own  personal  profit,  and  to  engage  in  the 
commerce  of  exportation,  had  no  longer  any  reason  for  remaining  in 
an  inaccessible  valley,  and  therefore  did  all  in  their  power  to  transfer 
the  population  to  the  valley  of  the  Paraguay.  Thus  the  valley  of  the 
Parana  gradually  recovered  its  primitive  condition  of  an  uninhabited 
waste  of  forest,  and  in  this  state  it  must  continue  until  the  distant  day 
when  railways  shall  open  it  lip  to  colonization  and  trade.  The  geog- 
raphy of  the  rivers  Parana  and  Paraguay  and  of  their  numerous  afflu- 
ents, the  Tibicuary,  Vermejo,  Pilcomayo,  Jejuy,  Aquidaban,  is  by  no 
means  thoroughly  known.  The  question  of  the  navigability  of  the 
Pilcomayo,  for  instance,  occupied,  until  very  recently,  the  attention  of 
explorers,  for,  to  judge  from  the  map,  this  river  that  winds  across  the 
pathless  solitudes  of  the  Chaco,  seems  to  be  the  natural  water-way  be- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


371 


tween  Bolivia  and  Paraguay,  but  all  the  expeditions  that  have  at- 
tempted the  passage  have  failed.  Patino,  in  1721,  was  driven  back  by 
the  Indians,  after  having  been  stopped  by  rocks  and  rapids.  Casta- 
hares  had  no  better  success  in  1741.  A few  years  later  Casales,  de- 
scending the  stream  from  Bolivia,  failed.  Azara,  in  1785,  tried  again, 
and  found  no  means  of  passing.  In  1843  Margerinos,  starting  from 
Bolivia,  came  to  grief  for  want  of  water,  for  the  waters  of  the  Pilco- 
mayo  are  salt  and  brackish.  In  1844  Van  Nievel  started  with  an  ex- 
pedition from  Bolivia,  was  stopped  by  rapids,  marshes,  and  quicksands, 
and  had  to  return.  Then,  in  1882,  Crevaux  made  the  attempt,  and 
was  killed  by  the  Indians  of  the  Chaco,  together  with  all  the  men  of 
his  escort.  This  tragic  denouement  excited  the  zeal  of  other  explorers 
— Thouar,  Fontana,  and  Feilberg  — who  made  the  journey  without 
achieving  the  desired  result. 

Feilberg,  however,  brought  back  a map  made  by  the  engineer,  Olaf 
Storm,  which  is  the  only  scientific  document  we  possess  as  to  the 
course  of  this  mysterious  river.  Recently  Olaf  Storm  made  another 
expedition,  the  result  of  which  is  to  demonstrate  that  the  Pilcomayo 
is  not  navigable,  and  that  if  any  communication  is  to  be  established 
between  Paraguay  and  Bolivia,  it  must  be  by  rails  and  locomotives. 
But  on  all  these  geographical  details  it  would  be  imprudent  for  an 
outsider  to  advance  opinions,  seeing  how  little  is  really  known,  how 
few  people  have  observed  the  ground,  and  how  much  insincerity  there 
is  in  many  reports.  A case  in  point  is  the  Chaco,  that  vast  area  of 
marsh  and  forest  which  is  held  partly  by  the  Argentines  and  partly  by 
the  Paraguayans.  Some  people  publish  abroad  that  there  is  a great 
future  for  the  Chaco;  others,  who  have  penetrated  more  or  less  deeply 
into  its  solitudes — engineers  and  explorers,  who  have  suffered  in  them 
and  crossed  them — maintain  that  it  is  a region  of  swamps  and  fever 
inhabitable  only  by  frogs,  mosquitoes,  and  Indians.  The  Argentine 
Chaco  has  already  devoured  much  money  and  many  lives.  Along  the 
river  railways  have  been  built  where  it  might  have  been  wiser  to  canal- 
ize the  affluents,  and  make  of  certain  accessible  parts  a sort  of  semi- 
tropical  Holland.  A few  colonies  and  sugar  plantations  have  been 
established  along  the  Parana;  but  the  results  hitherto  obtained  are 
small,  and  the  existence  of  the  colonists  is  unenviable  and  often  la- 
mentable. The  Chaco  is,  so  to  speak,  land  in  formation;  except  at  a 
few  isolated  points  it  is  exposed  to  inundation  every  time  the  rivers 
rise.  The  ground  being  flat,  the  rain  and  flood  waters  do  not  run  off, 


372 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


but  dry  up  only  by  evaporation.  The  few  rivers  that  traverse  the 
territory  are  almost  without  current  and  convey  little  water,  whereas 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Parana  and  the  Paraguay  there  are  numerous 
and  rapid  rivers  abounding  in  water  that  washes  the  soil  and  adapts  it 
for  agriculture.  The  land  of  the  Chaco  is  not  drained,  and  therefore 
remains  marshy ; the  rivers  are  stagnant,  and,  thanks  to  the  nature  of 
the  soil,  they  become  so  impregnated  with  salts  that  their  waters  are 
not  drinkable.  With  the  exception  of  a zone  of  a few  kilometres 
along  the  Paraguay  River,  where  the  land  rises  four  or  five  metres 
above  the  water,  and  of  a few  isolated  spots  covered  with  palm-trees, 
and  of  the  more  elevated  sections  of  the  Argentine  Chaco,  where  the 
colonies  of  Ocampa,  Florencia,  Resistencia,  and  Formosa  have  been 
established,  the  whole  Chaco  south  of  latitude  20°  south  is  fiat,  marshy, 
subject  to  constant  inundations,  and  utterly  uninhabitable.  Above 
latitude  20°  south  the  nature  of  the  land  changes  completely.  On  all 
details  connected  with  the  geography  of  Paraguay  the  recent  work  of 
Dr.  E.  de  Bourgade  La  Dardye  \_Lc  Paraguay , Paris,  1889]  may  be 
consulted  with  advantage.  This  author  has  also  published  the  most 
complete  and  correct  map  of  the  Republic;  but  there  is  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  the  effective  patronage  which  the  Paraguayan  Government 
is  understood  to  have  extended  to  his  volume  has  caused  him  to  exag- 
gerate greatly  the  advantages  and  resources  of  the  Republic,  to  paint 
everything  in  glowing  colors,  and  to  omit  those  qualifying  clauses 
which  are  always  so  conspicuously  wanting  in  official  and  semi-official 
works.  However,  in  the  scientific  parts  of  his  book  Dr.  De  Bourgade 
has  condensed  a great  mass  of  exact  information,  for  which  we  cannot 
but  be  grateful. 

The  natural  history  of  Paraguay  has  still  to  be  written.  The  fact 
of  the  country  having  been  inaccessible  to  foreigners  during  the  dic- 
tatorship of  Francia  and  of  the  two  Lopezes  prevented  scientific  men 
from  studying  the  fauna  and  flora  as  completely  as  they  have  been 
studied  in  other  countries.  Nevertheless  there  are  some  valuable 
documents  in  existence,  notably  the  zoological  monographs  of  Azara 
and  the  botanical  works  of  the  Jesuits.  The  geology  of  the  country, 
on  the  other  hand,  is  very  little  known.  Within  my  limited  space  I 
can  only  give  a few  general  indications,  such  as  a passing  traveller 
may  gather.  Lirst  of  all,  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  vegetation  of 
Paraguay  proper  differs  altogether  from  that  of  the  Paraguayan 
Chaco.  In  Paraguay  proper  we  see  the  virgin  forest,  with  its  majestic 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


373 


trees  wound  round  with  lianes  and  constellated  with  orchids  and  in- 
numerable brilliant  flowers — a terrible  labyrinth  of  growth  and  decay, 
a scene  of  perpetual  carnage  and  inevitable  dissolution,  where  the 
giant  parasites  climb  around  the  great  trees,  strangle  their  branches, 
and  tear  them  down;  where  vigorous  mosses  creep  along  the  boughs, 
and  eat  out  the  core  and  life;  where  the  earth  is  covered  with  a thick 
carpet  of  rotting  wood  and  spongy  lichens  forming  as  it  were  the 
charnel-house  of  this  vast  mystery  of  the  struggle  for  vegetal  exist- 
ence. In  these  virgin  forests,  especially  in  the  north  of  the  Republic, 
monkeys  and  parrots  abound,  and  wherever  the  trees  fringe  a stream, 
the  sunny  banks  are  black  with  the  slothful  forms  of  alligators.  At 
intervals  the  forest  is  interrupted  by  stretches  of  pasturage  covered 
with  tall,  thick  grass,  and  by  hills  covered  with  pindo  palms.  Then 
there  are  natural  groves  of  orange-trees  covered  with  ripe  fruit  during 
eight  months  of  the  year,  clumps  of  banana- trees,  and  masses  of 
flowering  shrubs  of  various  kinds.  The  Chaco,  on  the  other  hand,  is 
generally  a marshy  plain  covered  with  low  gray  vegetation,  reeds,  and 
feather-grass,  and  dotted  with  yatais  palm-trees.  In  some  places  thick 
forests  of  quebracho  vary  the  monotony  of  the  landscape,  and  elsewhere 
there  are  leagues  and  leagues  of  gray  and  yellow  green  shrubs  of  the 
acacia  family  interspersed  with  masses  of  bamboo.  In  Paraguay 
proper  the  vegetation  varies  from  north  to  south,  becoming  more  or 
less  tropical.  It  varies  also  as  we  advance  towards  the  east,  for  it  is 
only  in  the  eastern  section  of  the  Republic  that  we  find  the  yerba 
mate , which  produces  the  famous  Jesuits’  tea  [ilex  ParagJiariensis). 

Paraguay  is  a great  country  for  the  hunter.  The  forests  swarm 
with  birds,  the  finest  and  the  most  varied  in  the  world;  the  innumer- 
able rivers  are  the  resort  of  countless  flocks  of  storks  and  flamin- 
goes ; the  jungle  abounds  in  great  game  and  small.  First  of  all  we 
have  what  the  Spanish-Americans  call  the  tiger,  which  is  properly  the 
jaguar,  from  the  Guarani  word  jaguarcte,  meaning  large  dog.  This 
beast  is  of  great  strength,  and  can  pull  down  and  carry  off  an  ox  or  a 
horse,  but  it  is  found  only  in  the  interior  and  in  the  Chaco,  never  com- 
ing near  the  villages,  or  even  in  the  neighborhood  of  isolated  habita- 
tions. The  American  lion,  or  puma,  so  common  in  the  Argentine,  is 
also  found  in  Paraguay,  though  it  is  not  common.  Twice  on  the  voy- 
age up  the  Parana  I saw  pumas  swimming  across  the  river  in  the 
early  morning.  Tiger-cats  are  common  in  Paraguay.  There  are  also 
various  specimens  of  the  canine  family  that  have  not  yet  been  scien- 


374 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


tifically  described,  as  well  as  varieties  of  stags  called  gnazu , and  some 
strange  pachydermatous  animals,  notably  the  tapir  and  the  peccary. 
These  latter  are  very  dangerous  if  you  happen  to  cross  their  path, 
for  they  both  pass  their  time  in  rushing  through  the  underwood  or 
across  the  plains,  the  former  singly,  the  latter  in  bands,  the  tapir  bor- 
ing his  way  through  the  jungle  like  a cannon-ball,  and  the  band  of 
peccary  passing  over  the  open  country  like  a discharge  from  a park  of 
artillery. 

Another  curious  animal  is  the  carpincho , or  river  hog  ( Hydrochce - 
rtis  capybara ),  a web-footed  amphibious  animal  of  the  size  and  aspect 
of  a wild-boar.  The  skin  is  highly  esteemed,  and  provides  a soft  fine 
leather  with  which  the  Spanish- Americans  make  those  broad  belts 
with  pockets  where  the  traveller  carries  his  money  and  his  revolvers 
in  inseparable  intimacy.  The  saurians  abound  all  over  the  country, 
and  from  Corrientes  upward  it  is  the  great  distraction  of  the  traveller 
to  watch  the  crocodiles  sunning  themselves  on  the  banks,  where  they 
sleep  the  siesta  singly  or  in  company,  forming  on  the  mud  or  sand 
strange  black  arabesques  which  the  inexperienced  eye  might  mistake 
for  logs  of  wood.  These  crocodiles,  or  yacares,  as  they  are  called  in 
the  country,  are  known  to  scientific  men  by  the  name  of  alligator  sclc- 
rops.  I saw  some  as  much  as  twelve  feet  long,  but  in  general  they  are 
much  smaller,  averaging,  say,  five  feet ; they  have  not  the  ferocity  of 
the  alligators  of  the  Amazon  and  the  Nile,  and  do  not  attack  unless 
provoked.  The  forests  of  Paraguay  are  undesirably  rich  in  serpents, 
of  which,  I am  very  happy  to  say,  I had  very  little  personal  experience. 
There  are  rattlesnakes,  boas,  and  many  venomous  vipers ; also  enor- 
mous water-serpents,  which  are  the  terror  of  the  Indians.  There  are 
huge  frogs,  as  in  Brazil,  which  make  a terrible  din  on  summer  nights, 
but  are  otherwise  harmless.  The  fish  in  the  rivers  are  often  armed 
with  powerful  jaws,  notably  the  palometa  and  the  bagre,  which  are  ca- 
pable of  devouring  an  ox  if  they  catch  him  bathing.  As  for  the  ven- 
omous spiders  and  stinging  insects,  mosquitoes,  Bichos  colorados , gar- 
rapates , vermin,  and  flies  of  all  kinds,  there  would  be  no  end  to  the 
description  of  them  ; but  it  is  only  in  the  virgin  forest  or  in  the  soli- 
tude of  the  Chaco  that  one  is  exposed  to  their  attacks  without  possible 
defence.  Paraguay,  as  regards  harmful  animals  and  insects,  has  not 
been  blessed  like  Chili  with  complete  immunity.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  fauna  of  the  country  is  by  no  means  an  obstacle  to  its  occupation 
by  civilization,  for  the  simple  reason  that  wherever  man  and  his  habi- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


j/  5 


tations  appear,  the  wild  beasts,  the  serpents,  and  even  the  vermin  tend 
to  disappear. 

The  climate  of  Paraguay  has  been  carefully  studied  of  late  years 
by  Mr.  Mangels,  who  has  long  lived  in  Asuncion.  This  town  is  situ- 
ated at  a height  of  seventy-seven  metres  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
which  is  the  average  height  of  the  whole  territory,  there  being  a slight 
rise  towards  the  north-east,  where  the  highest  Cordilleras  attain  500 
metres.  The  temperature  is  not  subject  to  brusque  variations.  Dur- 
ing the  three  summer  months — December,  January,  and  February — it 
varies  between  a minimum  of  13°  or  14  centigrade,  and  a maximum 
of  38°.  The  summer  heat  is  not  torrid,  but  is  tempered  by  frequent 
storms.  In  July,  that  is  to  say,  in  midwinter,  the  thermometer  at  night 
descends  sometimes  to  5 centigrade,  while  in  the  daytime  it  rises  to 
30°.  September  and  October  are  generally  rainy,  but  there  is  no  fixed 
rainy  season  such  as  we  find  farther  north  in  the  tropical  zone.  On 
the  whole,  the  climate  of  Paraguay  is  considered  healthy,  and  during 
nine  months  out  of  the  twelve  it  may  be  characterized  as  temperate. 

The  actual  situation  of  property  in  Paraguay  demands  a few  words 
of  explanation;  the  more  so,  as  the  future  of  the  country  depends  upon 
it.  After  the  war  of  the  triple  alliance,  in  the  general  ruin  and  desola- 
tion of  the  country,  most  of  the  public  and  private  archives  disap- 
peared, and  these  had  to  be  reconstituted  as  best  they  could  be  after 
peace  was  signed.  All  who  made  the  demand  then  received  special 
titles — Titulos  supletorios — which  constituted  authentic  deeds  for  the 
ownership  of  real  estate.  The  ravages  of  the  war,  however,  were  so 
terrible  that  many  families  disappeared  entirely,  leaving  no  heirs,  and 
so  much  land  returned  to  the  State.  The  already  vast  public  domain 
was  thus  increased  to  such  an  extent  that  nearly  all  the  territory  of 
Paraguay  became  State  property.  This  fact  was  an  obstacle  to  the 
resuscitation  of  the  country,  because  the  State  had  neither  money  nor 
hands  wherewith  to  utilize  its  lands.  In  former  days,  under  the 
regime  of  Francia  and  the  Lopezes,  the  utilization  of  the  State  lands 
was  almost  the  only  source  of  the  public  fortunes.  The  State  was 
then  the  absolute  master  of  all,  and  the  theory  was  that  the  State 
must  be  self-sufficing.  Flence  the  establishment  on  the  State  lands  of 
vast  cstancias , or  cattle  farms ; and  afterward,  under  Lopez,  of  equally 
vast  agricultural  enterprises,  which  provided  the  Government  with 
enormous  resources.  These  were  the  palmy  days  of  Paraguay.  The 
State  was  enormously  rich,  and  yet  the  population  paid  no  taxes.  On 


3/6 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


the  other  hand,  the  State,  with  its  immense  capital,  and  its  complete 
and,  if  necessary,  arbitrary  command  of  labor,  was  the  formidable  rival 
of  the  private  holders  and  commercial  men,  whose  limited  means  con- 
demned them  to  failure.  In  the  form  of  representative  government 
inaugurated  in  Paraguay  after  the  war  there  was  no  reason  for  the  ex- 
istence of  State  property;  in  the  first  place,  because  the  State  no  long- 
er had  the  means  to  reconstitute  and  work  the  farms  that  had  been 
destroyed  during  the  war;  and  in  the  second  place,  because  industry 
and  commerce  were  declared  free.  Then  arose  the  problems:  who 
could  buy  the  State  lands,  and  where  were  the  hands  to  cultivate 
them  ? For  several  years  these  problems  remained  without  solution, 
until  finally,  in  1885,  the  Paraguayan  Government  took  two  measures, 
the  success  of  which  was  the  beginning  of  a new  era  for  the  country. 
One  measure  was  the  law  of  July,  1885,  concerning  the  sale  of  the 
State  lands  at  prices  varying  according  to  five  categories  of  situation 
and  fertility;  the  second  was  the  arrangement  of  the  debt  of  1870,  and 
the  acceptation  by  the  English  bondholders  of  500  leagues  of  land  to 
cancel  their  claim.  Thus  the  credit  of  Paraguay  was  restored,  and  its 
soil  acquired  a commercial  value.  After  this  operation,  the  Argen- 
tines began  to  take  an  interest  in  Paraguay,  and  at  present  all  the 
State  lands  that  were  for  sale  have  been  taken  up  by  various  com- 
panies and  syndicates,  of  which  the  most  important  are  the  Paraguay 
Land  Company  and  the  Paraguayo- Argentine  Land  Company,  the 
former  English  and  the  latter  Argentine.  The  operations  of  these 
companies  are  still  in  their  infancy;  the  practical  value  of  much  of 
the  land  that  they  own  has  not  yet  been  demonstrated.  The  country, 
again,  is  happily  not  sufficiently  developed  to  permit  that  wild  specula- 
tion which  brought  about  the  agrarian  krach  in  the  Argentine,  where 
the  future  of  the  soil  has  been  ruinously  discounted ; hence,  the  real- 
estate  transactions  in  Paraguay  are  still  limited  and  reasonable,  and 
the  chief  business  of  the  moment  is  to  establish  experimental  colonies 
which  will  be  the  pioneers  of  a greater  colonizing  movement  to  be 
created  in  the  more  or  less  near  future. 

In  1885,  at  the  same  time  that  the  law  for  the  sale  of  the  public 
lands  was  voted,  Congress  sanctioned  a similar  measure  concerning 
the  yerbales,  or  forests,  of  Jesuits’  tea.  The  State,  in  its  quality  of 
owner,  could  not  look  after  the  keeping  up  of  these  forests,  and  under 
the  system  of  annual  renting  they  were  threatened  with  total  destruc- 
tion, as  happened  in  the  Argentine.  Hence  the  sale  of  the  yerbales 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


377 


and  the  formation  of  great  companies,  such  as  the  Industrial  Para- 
guaya  and  Patri  & Co.,  which  have  bought  hundreds  of  leagues  of 
tea  forests,  and  invested  large  amounts  of  capital  in  these  enter- 
prises. The  State,  however,  still  owns  the  greater  part  of  the  tea  for- 
ests, and  great  prudence  is  displayed  in  their  sale.  The  Government 
is  also  devoting  attention  to  the  topographical  survey  of  the  territory, 
so  very  necessary  for  fixing  the  limits  of  property;  for  in  these  South 
American  countries,  when  you  have  bought  some  land,  the  great  diffi- 
culty often  is  to  find  its  whereabouts  and  to  determine  its  boundaries. 

The  population  of  Paraguay  is  a matter  of  dispute.  The  official 
statisticians  fix  it  at  330,000  in  round  numbers.  Careful  calculations 
make  out  the  population  to  have  been  about  770,000  in  1866,  at  the 
beginning  of  the  war.  Slaughter,  sickness,  and  starvation  suppressed 
about  three-fourths  of  the  population  during  the  years  of  the  war,  so 
that  in  1872  there  remained  only  250,000  people  in  the  whole  country. 
In  1890,  if  we  estimate  the  total  population  at  half  a million,  we  shall 
probably  be  over  the  mark.  The  increase  is  due  simply  to  normal 
progression,  for  up  to  the  present  the  number  of  immigrants  who  en- 
ter Paraguay  does  not  exceed  a thousand  a year.  The  population  of 
Asuncion,  the  capital,  is  about  25,000.  A curious  phenomenon  to  be 
observed  is  that  in  the  registers  of  Asuncion  the  female  exceed  the 
male  births  in  the  proportion  of  52.40  to  47.60  per  cent.  In  the 
country  districts  the  proportion  is  greater,  being  54.64  girls  to  45.36 
boys.  In  the  Argentine  Republic,  on  the  other  hand,  there  are  born 
more  boys  than  girls.  Paraguay  is  the  only  country  where  the  women 
are  in  the  majority. 

In  speaking  of  the  population  of  Paraguay  we  have  referred  to  the 
Republic  proper  only,  and  not  to  the  Indians  of  the  Chaco  and  of  the 
eastern  frontier.  These  Indians  are  estimated  by  the  Government 
statisticians  at  100,000,  but  no  trustworthy  information  about  them 
really  exists.  The  Indians  on  the  eastern  frontier  are  quiet  people, 
who  work  with  the  cutters  in  the  tea  forests.  The  Indians  of  the 
Chaco  are  Lenguas,  Payaguas,  Sanapanas,  Chamacocas,  and  other  less- 
known  tribes ; some  warlike,  others  pastoral.  The  Lenguas  are  con- 
stantly seen  in  the  north-west  of  Paraguay ; they  cross  the  river  from 
the  Chaco  in  their  canoes,  and  from  time  to  time  do  a day’s  work  or 
a morning’s  work.  Whole  tribes  of  Indians  go  to  Villa  Concepcion 
at  times,  just  as  the  Patagonians  go  to  Punta  Arenas,  to  sell  their 
skins  and  to  buy  Huntley  Sc  Palmer’s  biscuits.  All  these  Indians 


3/8 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


have  copper -colored  skins,  and  none  of  them  are  remarkable  for 
beauty.  For  that  matter,  the  mass  of  the  population  of  Paraguay  is 
more  or  less  Indian,  being  the  descendants  of  the  Guarani  tribes,  who 
were  more  or  less  civilized  by  the  Jesuits  in  the  old  colonial  days. 
Guarani,  rather  than  Spanish,  is  still  the  language  of  the  populace,  as 
it  is  in  the  Argentine  province  of  Corrientes,  where  the  inhabitants 
are  likewise  of  Guarani  origin. 

The  great  want  in  Paraguay  is  means  of  communication,  and  the 
first  step  towards  the  effective  modernization  and  development  of  the 
territory  will  be  the  creation  of  railways.  This  work  has  been  already 
begun,  and,  besides  practical  schemes  of  easy  execution  and  immediate 
utility,  some  vast  enterprises  have  been  conceived  which  deserve  notice 
if  not  approbation.  One  of  these  latter  is  a concession  for  a transconti- 
nental railway  between  Paraguay  and  Bolivia,  across  the  Chaco,  held 
by  an  ex-American  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  the  Argentine  Repub- 
lic. This  line  will  start  at  the  level  of  Villa  Concepcion  and  go  across 
the  Chaco,  a distance  of  565  miles,  to  the  Bolivian  frontier,  and  thence 
to  the  Bolivian  capital,  Sucre,  which  is  distant  820  miles  from  Villa 
Concepcion.  The  works  of  this  line  were  inaugurated  in  May,  1890, 
when  the  first  sod  was  turned,  in  the  presence  of  some  Paraguayan 
notabilities  and  of  delegations  of  dancing  Indians  from  the  Chaco,  but 
whether  the  line  will  ever  be  finished  it  is  very  hard  to  foresee.  The 
concessionnaires  informed  me  that  they  had  no  Government  guarantee, 
but  a more  sure  and  tangible  privilege  in  the  free  grant  of  every  other 
eight  leagues  of  land  along  the  line.  The  probability  is  that  many 
years  will  pass  before  this  line  reaches  Sucre,  and  that  the  only  imme- 
diate result  of  the  concession  will  be  the  construction  of  a few  kilo- 
metres of  rails  in  order  to  utilize  the  land  grants.  In  its  present  form 
the  scheme  does  not  impress  one  as  being  very  serious.  Another 
grand  scheme,  the  realization  of  which  is  likely  to  remain  in  suspense 
for  some  years  to  come,  is  the  transcontinental  railway  from  Asuncion 
to  Santos,  the  great  port  of  the  Brazilian  province  of  Sao  Paulo,  a 
distance  of  1300  kilometres.  This  line,  starting  from  Asuncion,  would 
go  towards  the  north-eastern  frontier  of  Paraguay,  enter  Brazilian  ter- 
ritory  at  latitude  24°  south  and  follow  that  parallel  to  Santos.  The 
authors  of  the  project  are  MM.  De  Bourgade,  Modave,  and  Obert,  who 
desire  thereby  to  liberate  Paraguay  from  the  tutelage  of  Buenos  Ayres, 
and  to  place  the  country  in  direct  communication  with  the  ocean. 
The  railway  would  put  Asuncion  within  thirty  hours  of  Santos, 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


379 


whereas  at  pres- 
ent it  takes  near- 
ly a week  down 
stream  to  get 
from  Asuncion  to 
Buenos  Ayres 
and  Montevideo, 
and  so  to  the  ocean.  A 
branch  of  this  railway 
would  run  to  Tacuru- 
Pucu,  the  point  where  the 
navigation  of  the  upper 
Parana  ceases  to  be  pos- 
sible, and  thus  the  line 
would  traverse  the  rich- 
est yerba  mate  and  timber 
forests  of  the  Republic. 

At  the  same  time  the 
line  to  Santos  would  give 
new  life  to  the  great  in- 
terior Brazilian  province 
of  Matto- Grosso,  and  to 
the  Argentine  provinces 
of  Corrientes  and  Mis- 
siones,  and  it  would  like- 
wise encourage  Bolivia  to 
seek  an  issue  from  her 
inland  prison  in  the  di- 
rection of  the  Paraguay 
River.  Such  are  the  the- 
oretical advantages  of 
this  projected  line.  Mean- 
while, to  return  to  facts 
and  realities,  we  have  one 
line  in  actual  existence  and  in  course  of  prolongation,  namely,  the 
Asuncion  and  Villa  Rica  Railway,  which  was  decreed  by  Lopez  I. 
and  begun  in  June,  1859,  at  a time  when  few  South  American  States 
ventured  even  to  dream  of  railway  enterprises.  The  first  section  of 
the  line  was  built  as  far  as  Paraguari,  72  kilometres  from  Asuncion, 


3 So 


THE  SPAMSH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  its  continuation  was  prevented  by  the  outbreak  of  the  war  and  the 
subsequent  ruin  of  the  country.  Things  remained  in  this  state  until 
18S6,  when  the  Government  bought  the  line,  which  had  become  the 
property  of  a private  company,  and  ordered  the  construction  of  the 
remaining  section.  Now  the  line  has  been  sold  by  the  Government 
to  an  English  company,  which  is  continuing  it  down  to  Villa  Encar- 
nacion,  on  the  river  Parana,  on  the  southern  frontier  of  the  Republic. 
On  the  opposite  bank  of  the  Parana  River  is  the  town  of  Posadas, 
the  terminus  of  the  Argentine  line  now  in  construction  from  Monte 
Caseros,  on  the  Uruguay  River,  just  opposite  the  town  of  Santa  Rosa 
del  Uruguay.  From  Monte  Caseros  a line  runs  to  Concordia,  which 
is  opposite  the  Uruguayan  town  of  Salto.  A glance  at  the  map  will 
show  that  the  completion  of  the  lines  above  referred  to  will  place 
Asuncion  and  the  southern  regions  of  Paraguay  in  convenient  com- 
munication with  the  Argentine  provinces  of  Corrientes  and  Entre 
Rios,  and  more  especially  with  the  port  of  Montevideo,  via  Posadas, 
Monte  Caseros,  Concordia,  Salto,  Paysandu,  and  the  lines  of  the  Mid- 
land and  Central  Uruguayan  railways. 

In  Paraguay  ways  of  communication  must  precede  colonization, 
because  otherwise  the  colonist  is  condemned  to  vegetate  in  the  midst 
of  solitude  without  a market  for  his  products.  Under  Lopez  the 
country  possessed  four  great  roads  starting  from  Asuncion,  one  south- 
ward, parallel  with  the  river,  to  Paso  de  la  Patria,  on  the  Parana,  a 
second  across  the  country  to  Villa  Encarnacion,  a third  eastward  to 
Villa  Rica,  and  a fourth  northward  to  Arroyos  y Esteros,  where  it 
divided  into  two  branches,  one  going  northward  parallel  with  the 
Paraguay  River,  and  the  other  north-east  to  Villa  Ygatimi.  These 
so-called  royal  roads — caminos  reales — were  connected  by  secondary 
and  cross-roads,  which  completed  the  system.  During  the  war  these 
roads  were  more  or  less  destroyed,  and  until  lately  no  measures  have 
been  taken  to  repair  them.  Other  means  of  communication,  destined 
to  become  in  course  of  time  great  roads,  are  the  picadas , or  cuttings 
through  the  forests,  made  by  the  yerbateros  in  order  to  transport  the 
mate  to  the  river  ports.  In  the  north  of  the  Republic  there  are  pica- 
das running  east  and  west,  which  put  Villa  Concepcion  in  communica- 
tion with  the  yerbales  of  the  eastern  frontier.  The  yerbales  of  the 
Parana  Valley  are  likewise  traversed  by  picadas.  Hitherto,  however, 
the  facility  of  water  communications  has  retarded  the  making  of  roads. 
The  basin  of  the  Paraguay  in  particular  is  canalized  by  a number  of 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


381 


important  rivers  that  are  navigable  by  chatas,  or  barges,  and jangadas, 
or  timber-rafts.  By  these  means  the  yerba  mate  and  precious  woods 
of  Paraguay  are  brought  to  the  port  of  Asuncion,  where  the  means  of 
exterior  navigation  are  centralized.  These  ways  of  communication 
suffice  for  the  primitive  industries  of  yerba  mate  and  timber-cutting. 
The  laborious  teams  of  oxen  that  toil  along  with  their  loads  for  weeks 
together,  the  chata  painfully  propelled  by  long  poles  pressed  against 
straining  shoulders,  the  raft  that  floats  lazily  until  it  reaches  its  desti- 
nation— all  this  is  adequate  so  far  as  it  goes.  But  in  order  to  make 
Paraguay  a productive  country  in  agriculture,  horticulture,  and  the 
derivative  industries,  the  solitudes  must  be  peopled,  and  in  order  to 
people  the  solitudes  they  must  be  rendered  accessible.  This  is  the 
business  and  raison  d'etre  of  railways.  Where  the  line  goes  men  go, 
but  where  there  is  no  line  there  will  be  no  useful  colonization. 

Colonization  has  hardly  yet  begun  in  Paraguay,  for  the  reasons 
above  indicated.  There  are,  however,  two  more  or  less  flourishing 
German  colonies — Nueva  Germania  and  Colonia  Leipzig — started  by 
private  enterprise.  There  are  also  two  official  colonies,  San  Ber- 
nardino and  Villa  Hayes,  the  latter,  on  the  Chaco  side  of  the  river, 
founded  in  1756  under  the  name  of  Remanzo,  and  rechristened  after 
the  war,  when  President  Hayes,  as  arbiter  between  the  Argentine  and 
Paraguay,  recognized  the  rights  of  the  latter  to  a part  of  the  Chaco. 
San  Bernardino,  founded  in  1881,  is  on  the  northern  shore  of  Lake 
Ipacaray,  on  the  railway  line  between  Asuncion  and  Villa  Rica.  The 
majority  of  the  colonists  in  Villa  Hayes  are  French,  and  in  San  Ber- 
nardino Germans  predominate.  A North-American  colony  has  been 
founded  on  a small  scale  in  the  vicinity  of  San  Pedro,  with  a view 
to  cultivating  tobacco,  and  a French  colony,  called  Villa  Sana,  was 
started  at  the  beginning  of  1890  in  the  rich  land  north-east  of  Villa 
Concepcion.  The  desire  of  the  Paraguayan  Government  is  to  pro- 
mote the  establishment  of  large  private  colonization  enterprises,  which 
experience  has  shown  to  be  more  advantageous  both  to  the  colonists 
and  to  the  State  than  official  colonies  or  mere  assisted  immigration, 
such  as  has  been  favored  in  the  Argentine,  with  results  that  have 
rarely  been  satisfactory.  The  kinds  of  industry  to  be  undertaken  by 
colonies  or  private  individuals  in  Paraguay  are  numerous.  First  of  all, 
we  may  note  horse  and  cattle  breeding,  for  which  the  soil  is  admirably 
adapted,  and  dairy  farming,  now  very  little  practised.  Sheep  do  not 
prosper  in  Paraguay,  on  account  of  the  great  summer  heat  and  of  the 


382 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


nature  of  the  country.  After  the  pastoral  industry  follows  agriculture. 
Wheat  is  imported  from  the  Argentine,  where  it  can  be  grown  more 
cheaply.  In  Paraguay  the  chief  culture  is  that  of  maize,  of  which  five 
varieties  are  produced  in  great  abundance.  Rice  is  grown  on  a small 
scale  along  the  river- banks,  and  thanks  to  the  facility  of  establishing 
irrigation,  the  cultivation  of  this  cereal  on  a large  scale  seems  possible 
and  desirable.  Barley  and  oats  thrive,  but  have  hitherto  been  culti- 
vated only  to  a very  limited  extent.  Mandioca  is  grown  everywhere 
in  Paraguay,  and  eaten  either  boiled  in  the  puchero,  ox  pot  au  feu , or 
else  roasted  in  the  ashes.  This  root  is  the  potato  of  the  South  Amer- 
icans, the  chief  element  in  the  nourishment  of  the  least  prosperous 
and  least  civilized  peoples.  In  market  gardening  almost  everything 
remains  to  be  done ; there  is  a great  demand  for  garden  produce,  and 
very  few  gardeners  to  meet  it.  Viticulture  has  also  to  be  redeveloped 
in  Paraguay,  where  it  existed  on  a grand  scale  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  and  furnished  wine  to  Buenos  Ayres.  Now,  however,  the 
industry  has  disappeared,  from  causes  that  have  not  been  satisfactorily 
explained.  Sugar-cane  prospers  in  Paraguay  as  well  as  it  does  in 
Tucuman,  Corrientes,  and  the  Argentine  Chaco,  and  four  varieties 
have  been  cultivated  with  success  both  for  sugar-making  and  for  dis. 
tillery,  but  up  to  the  present  almost  all  the  cane  is  used  for  distilling 
cana,  or  rum.  There  is  hardly  a village  in  Paraguay  that  has  not  its 
cana  distillery,  and  it  is  estimated  that  the  annual  production  amounts 
to  3,500,000  litres , which  gives  an  average  consumption  per  inhabitant 
of  9 litres  a year,  the  exportation  of  cana  being  insignificant.  The 
average  consumption  of  alcohol  per  head  is:  in  France,  3 litres ; 
Great  Britain,  6;  Prussia,  7;  Sweden  and  Russia,  10;  and  Denmark, 
16.  This  cane  spirit,  which  can  be  produced  in  abundance,  combined 
with  the  variety  of  aromatic  plants  and  fruits  that  grow  in  Paraguay 
— mate,  guava,  banana,  pineapple,  various  plants  of  the  myrtle  family, 
etc. — renders  the  country  favorable  for  the  establishment  of  liqueur 
manufactories.  We  must  not  forget  to  note  promising  experiments 
that  have  been  made  in  the  culture  of  coffee,  and,  finally,  the  culture 
of  tobacco,  which  grows  freely  and  abundantly.  In  South  America 
certain  marks  of  Paraguayan  tobacco  are  highly  esteemed,  and  some 
enthusiasts  venture  to  compare  them  with  Havana  brands.  For  my 
part,  I tried  some  dozen  of  the  choicest  varieties,  and  found  them  all 
detestable.  Nevertheless,  there  is  much  tobacco  exported,  and  doubt- 
less with  care  the  quality  of  the  leaf  could  be  improved.  In  Paraguay 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


383 


itself  the  consumption  of  tobacco  is  colossal.  The  total  production 
at  present  is  10,500,000  kilograms  a year  in  round  numbers,  of  which, 
4,785,000  kilograms  are  exported,  and  the  rest  smoked  in  the  country. 
Thus  we  find  that  each  inhabitant  smokes  an  average  of  kilo- 
grams a year,  or, 
say,  eight  cigars 
a day.  In  France 
the  annual  con- 
sumption per  in- 
habitant is  758 
grams,  or  about 
1^  pounds.  In 
Paraguay  the 
women  and  chil- 
dren smoke  as 
much  as  the  men. 

One  of  the 
great  sources  of 
wealth  in  Para- 
guay is  the  tim- 
ber. The  country 
is  rich  in  splen- 
did woods  of  all 
kinds,  suitable 
for  carpentry, car- 
riage and  ship 
building,  in  fine 
woods  for  cabi- 
net - makers,  and 

LA  CHACARITA. 

in  dye-woods  and 
trees  useful  in 

the  chemical  industries.  The  chief  obstacle  to  the  utilization  of  these 
woods  is  the  difficulty  of  transportation.  There  are  also  many  textile 
plants  in  the  forests,  which  the  industry  of  the  future  will  learn  to 
utilize  commercially,  such  as  cotton,  ramie,  and  ibyra , a plant  of  the 
pineapple  family,  with  long,  narrow',  and  flexible  leaves,  containing  an 
excellent  fibre.  This  plant  covers  leagues  and  leagues  of  territory. 
A very  large  and  curious  collection  of  Paraguayan  textile  plants  was 
exhibited  at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1889,  and  described  in  the  cata- 


384 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


logue.  At  the  same  exhibition  were  specimens  of  fourteen  dveing 
materials  extracted  from  Paraguayan  plants.  The  oleaginous  plants 
are  the  mani,  or  peanut,  cocoanut  palms,  castor-bean — all  utilized  on 
a small  scale  and  capable  of  greater  extension. 

Now  we  come  to  the  two  staple  products  of  Paraguay,  ycrba  mate 
and  oranges.  The  yerba  mate  was  employed  in  the  form  of  an  aro- 
matic drink  by  the  Indians,  who  taught  the  Spanish  conquerors  to 
appreciate  it.  Nowadays  the  consumption  of  mate  is  general  through- 
out South  America,  not  only  among  the  creoles  and  the  old  settlers, 
but  also  among  the  new  immigrants.  It  is  preferred  to  Chinese  tea, 
coffee,  and  cocoa,  than  which  it  is  pronounced  by  certain  scientists  to 
be  more  truly  a waste-preventing  stimulant.  Throughout  Spanish 
America  the  bombilla  and  the  gourd  are  in  use,  and  many  times  a day 
the  amateurs  make  their  infusion,  and  suck  it  placidly  through  the 
slender  tube.  Curiously  enough,  mate  cannot  be  cultivated.  The 
Jesuits,  it  appears,  discovered  a means  of  reproducing  the  Ilex para- 
guariensis , and  made  great  plantations  around  their  “reductions.”  But 
since  the  expulsion  of  the  fathers  the  secret  has  been  lost.  The  plant 
grows  spontaneously  between  latitudes  22  and  29  south  and  east  of 
the  59th  degree  of  longitude  west  from  Paris.  The  nearer  it  grows  to 
the  sea,  the  poorer  is  the  quality.  The  finest  mate  is  that  of  Paraguay. 
The  exportation  ports  are  Tacuru-Pucu  and  Villa  Encarnacion  on  the 
Parana  River,  and  Asuncion  and  Villa  Concepcion  on  the  Paraguay, 
whence  it  is  shipped  to  the  Argentine  ports  of  Rosario  and  Buenos 
Ayres;  to  Corumba  in  Brazil,  and  to  Montevideo  in  Uruguay.  The 
total  production  is  estimated  at  11,000,000  kilograms  a year,  more 
than  half  of  which  is  exported.  The  mate , as  we  have  seen,  grows  in 
the  distant  forests  of  the  east  of  Paraguay.  The  utilization  of  the 
mate  involves  four  operations — gathering,  preparation,  transport,  and 
packing — and  finally  sending  to  market.  The  gathering  is  done  by 
the  minero,  who  cuts  the  leaves  and  dries  them  slightly  over  a fire. 
The  preparation  is  completed  by  the  uru , who  roasts  the  leaves,  which 
are  then  conveyed  in  wagons  drawn  by  six  oxen  to  the  head  centre  of 
the  enterprise,  where  they  are  put  in  sacks  or  bales  of  cowhide.  Water 
transport  is  generally  used  for  carrying  the  mate  to  the  markets  of 
Villa  Concepcion  or  Asuncion.  Hundreds  of  workmen  are  employed 
in  the  forests  cutting  mate.  Great  fortunes  are  made  by  the  contrac- 
tors, or  j yerbateros,  and  more  especially  by  the  commercial  companies 
who  sell  and  export  the  product,  while  at  the  same  time  the  small  ex- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


335 


port  tax  levied  by  the  Government  constitutes  an  important  source  of 
revenue. 

The  orange-tree  is  generally  understood  to  have  been  introduced 
into  Paraguay  by  the  Jesuits,  and  the  seeds  distributed  by  the  birds. 
However  this  may  be,  the  orange  has  spread  all  over  the  country, 
from  the  river-banks  to  the  tops  of  the  hills,  and  from  the  cottages 
even  to  the  deepest  solitudes  of  the  virgin  forest.  Paraguay  is  the 
land  of  orange-trees  more  truly  than  the  country  of  Mignon.  There 
are  several  varieties,  notably  the  apepu , a very  acid  orange,  which,  from 
its  Guarani  name,  some  believe  to  be  a native  variety,  while  the  sweet 
orange,  the  bigarade  ( Citrus  bigaradia),  the  mandarin,  and  various 
kinds  of  lemons  and  limes  were  undoubtedly  introduced  by  the  Jes- 
uits. At  any  rate,  whether  wild  or  cultivated,  orange-trees  abound 
and  spread  over  the  landscape  a warm  golden  tinge  of  singular  inten- 
sity. The  Paraguayan  landscape  has  qualities  of  color  and  silhouette 
that  one  can  never  forget,  and  there  is  a fascination  in  the  aspect  of 
the  country  that  makes  travellers  who  have  once  seen  it  rave  about  it 
for  the  rest  of  their  lives.  I felt  this  fascination,  as  others  have  done, 
and  my  souvenirs  are  full  of  delightful  visions  of  flowers,  fruit,  and 
verdure  with  soft  undulating  lines,  river  vistas  in  the  background,  and 
oranges  everywhere.  And  what  oranges!  Juicy,  perfumed,  and  of  a 
delicacy  that  Spain  and  Italy  have  never  attained.  The  chief  industry 
consists  in  the  exportation  of  the  fruit.  The  great  orange  season  is 
from  May  to  August,  when  the  ports  of  the  Paraguay  River  from 
Humaita  to  Asuncion  despatch  enormous  quantities  by  steamers  and 
schooners.  Villeta,  San  Lorenzo,  and  San  Antonio  are  the  principal 
ports,  and  there  best  may  be  seen  the  picturesque  processions  of  laugh- 
ing and  screaming  girls  and  women,  who  carry  basket  after  basket  of 
fruit  on  their  heads  from  the  shore  to  the  ship,  like  a swarm  of  busy 
ants.  Up  to  the  present  no  industrial  use  has  been  made  of  the  or- 
ange. Some  sixty  millions  are  exported  annually,  the  same  quantity 
is  consumed  by  the  natives,  and  perhaps  treble  that  quantity  is  de- 
voured by  monkeys  and  birds  or  left  to  rot  on  the  ground. 

Now  that  we  have  described  briefly  the  nature  of  the  country,  its 
political  condition,  and  the  main  sources  of  its  wealth,  whether  in  the 
present  or  in  the  future,  when  colonization  and  capital  shall  have 
made  the  land  actively  productive,  let  us  see  how  the  towns  look  and 
how  the  people  live. 

In  Paraguay  there  is  but  one  town — Asuncion,  the  capital.  When 


386 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


the  traveller  has  seen  this  city  he  has  seen  the  quintessence  of  all  that 
is  fine  in  the  Republic. 

Asuncion  is  charmingly  situated  on  gently  undulating  ground,  ris- 
ing to  a considerable  height  above  the  river,  which  makes  a bend 
here,  and  forms  a bay  in  which  are  anchored  a few  steamers,  many 
schooners,  a white  Brazilian  gunboat,  and  two  or  three  hulks,  while 
close  to  the  shore  are  some  long  wood  rafts  and  floating  cedar  lo^s 
To  the  north-east  of  the  port,  which  consists  merely  of  a wooden  pier, 

simple  quays,  and 
the  usual  build- 
ings of  custom- 
house and  ware- 
houses on  a small 
scale,  the  beach 
for  some  distance 
forms  a broad  level 
stretch  of  green 
meadows  bounded 
by  steep  red  sand- 
stone cliffs,  which 
are  crowned  by  the 
silhouettes  of  the 
principal  edifices 
of  the  town — the 
Palace  of  Lopez, 
the  Cabildo,  the 
barracks,  the  dome 
of  the  Pantheon, 
the  Church  of  San 
Francisco,  and  be- 
low- this  church, 
perched  literally 
on  the  side  of  the 

STREET  IN  ASUNCION.  diff,  the  suburb 

or  quarter  called 

La  Chacarita.  All  along  the  shore  are  groups  of  women  washing 
clothes,  with,  in  the  background,  a flourishing  growth  of  trees  and 
jungle,  and  the  town  itself  appears  to  be  surrounded  and  interspersed 
with  verdure.  The  view  of  Asuncion  from  the  river  is  delightful,  but 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


387 


the  view  from  the  interior  is  still  more  so,  particularly  from  the  high 
ground  of  La  Cancha,  a sort  of  hotel  and  pleasure  resort,  situated  a 
short  distance  to  the  east.  From  this  point  the  spectacle  is  most  fas- 
cinating. The  outer  zone  of  the  town  consists  of  a belt  of  low  wooded 
hills,  dotted  with  cottages  and  yellow  with  orange-trees.  The  inner 
zone,  more  level  but  still  undulating,  slopes  towards  the  river,  and  ap- 
pears covered  with  buildings,  from  which  emerge  tall  church-towers 
and,  here  and  there,  groups  of  trees ; beyond  this  is  the  silvery  river 
winding  along  between  islands,  jungles,  and  shallows,  and  in  the  back- 
ground is  the  dark-blue  interminable  flatness  of  the  Paraguayan 
Chaco.  There  are  few  towns  in  the  world  more  picturesquely  situ- 
ated than  Asuncion,  and  few  urban  panoramas  that  offer  a more  beau- 
tiful distribution  of  soft  hills,  rich  vegetation,  pretty  river  scenery,  and 
grand  and  limitless  horizon. 

The  town  is  full  of  surprises  and  contrasts.  This  hotel  of  La 
Cancha,  for  instance,  almost  within  a stone’s-throw  of  the  virgin  for- 
est, is  lighted  by  electricity.  The  streets  of  Asuncion  are,  with  two 
exceptions,  unpaved,  and  in  some  of  the  side  streets  cows  may  be  seen 
grazing ; but  all  are  lined  with  tall  posts  and  cross-trees  that  carry  in- 
numerable telephone  wires,  and  in  some  the  old  oil  lanterns  have  been 
replaced  by  electric  lamps.  The  town  is  laid  out  rectangularly  in 
cuadras,  the  streets  running  in  one  direction  towards  the  port  and 
river,  and  in  the  other  towards  the  wooded  country.  These  streets  all 
go  up  and  down  hill ; they  have  high  sidewalks,  more  or  less  paved ; 
but  the  roadway  is  generally  a sort  of  deep  and  rugged  valley  of  fine 
red  sand,  with  here  and  there  a protruding  rock.  A proof  of  the  con- 
dition of  the  streets  of  Asuncion  is  given  by  the  fact  that  there  are 
no  public  or  private  carriages ; the  only  vehicles  that  can  circulate 
are  ox-carts  and  lighter  vehicles  drawn  by  three  or  four  mules.  Pack- 
mules,  donkeys,  and  riding-horses  are  also  used,  but  for  light  goods 
and  passengers  the  great  and  indispensable  conveyance  is  the  tram-way, 
which  bears  the  name  of  Conductor  Universal.  The  streets  2:0  on 
and  on  to  the  limits  of  the  town,  the  houses  and  huts  become  less  fre- 
quent, but  the  deep  sandy  road  continues  between  forests,  orange-trees, 
and  innumerable  varieties  of  flowering  shrubs  and  creepers.  The  tel- 
egraph posts  continue  likewise,  and  with  them  the  tram  lines  and  the 
cars,  with  their  teams  of  ill-used  mules,  their  dark-skinned  drivers  and 
conductors,  who  talk  Guarani,  and  barely  understand  a few  words  of 
Spanish.  One  wonders  what  can  be  the  use  of  a tram-way  through  the 


388 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


forest.  At  last,  however,  after  running  some  five  miles,  the  car  stops 
at  a spot  called  Villa  Morra,  where  the  streets  are  indicated  by  finger- 
posts stuck  in  the  open  fields.  There  are  a few  country  houses  here, 
a manufactory  of  palm-oil,  a hotel,  and,  at  a short  distance,  the  church 
and  cemetery  of  the  Recoleta.  The  landscape  is  beautiful,  and  the 
vegetation  and  flora  of  a variety  and  richness  beyond  description  ; the 
roads  are  lined  with  orange-trees;  every  hut  nestles  in  groves  of  or- 
ange, banana,  lime,  fig,  and  palm  trees;  the  hedges  and  fences  are 
formed  of  huge  cactuses,  convolvuli,  and  Hanes.  As  for  the  cottages 

and  huts,  they  are  of  very 
primitive  architecture, 
most  of  them  being:  built 
of  mud  and  cane,  with 
bark  roofs  ; a few  only  are 
of  brick,  with  tile  roofs, 
and  still  fewer  have  more 
than  one  room,  one  door, 
and  one  small  window, 
shaded  in  front  by  a ve- 
randa supported  on  palm- 
tree  pillars.  In  the  town, 
too,  the  old  houses  all 
have  verandas  or  long  col- 
onnades in  front  that  cov- 
er the  sidewalk,  and  offer 
protection  from  the  tropi- 
cal sun.  The  more  mod- 
ern houses,  on  the  other 
hand,  have  no  verandas; 
they  are  like  those  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  their 
fa9ades  are  over-ornamented  with  stucco  and  elaborate  iron  gratings. 

The  cemetery  of  La  Recoleta  is  neatly  kept,  some  of  the  tombs 
are  elaborate  specimens  of  the  Italian  stucco- worker’s  art,  adorned 
with  natural  flowers  and  wreaths  of  beads  threaded  on  wire,  after  the 
French  fashion,  but  most  of  them  are  simple  black  wooden  crosses 
draped  with  bands  or  scarfs  of  white  linen  embroidered  at  the  ends. 
In  front  of  each  cross  are  placed  two  common  tin  lanterns  surmounted 
bv  a little  tin  cross  with  candles  burning:  inside.  While  I was  wander- 


COTTAGE  IN  ASUNCION. 


FUNERAL  OF  AN  “ ANGELITO  ” IN  THE  RECOLETA  CEMETERY. 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


391 


ing  about  this  cemetery,  where  orange-trees  are  more  numerous  than 
cypresses,  two  bells  in  the  tower  of  the  church  began  to  ring  rapidly 
and  joyously — one  might  have  thought  for  a marriage.  I went  out- 
side and  waited,  and  soon  I saw  in  the  distance  some  figures  coming 
along  a sandy  lane  bordered  with  grass  and  luxuriant  shrubs  and 
trees.  In  the  background  was  the  wide  vista  of  rolling,  wooded  land- 
scape dotted  in  the  distance  with  red-tiled  roofs  of  cottages,  and  with 
the  yellow  glow  of  the  fruit- laden  orange-trees.  As  the  figures  ap- 
proached, I distinguished  costumes  of  gay  colors — sky-blue,  rose,  pink, 
yellow,  and  white.  It  was  a procession  of  women  and  girls,  some  with 
babes  in  their  arms,  others  with  children  trotting  at  their  sides,  the 
little  boys  wearing  ponchos , the  women  and  girls  dressed  in  the  usual 
Paraguayan  fashion,  with  a skirt  and  camisole , and  a white  sheet  or  a 
black  shawl  draped  in  Oriental  style  and  covering  the  head.  These 
women  were  all  barefooted.  They  advanced  with  gayety  and  laugh- 
ter, almost  at  a gentle  run ; and  the  young  woman  who  led  the  cor- 
tege carried  on  her  head  a little  coffin  enveloped  in  white  embroidery 
strewn  with  fresh  natural  roses.  Thus,  while  the  bells  clattered  more 
merrily  than  ever,  the  joyous  group  passed  the  turnstile,  traversed  the 
cloisters  of  the  church,  and  halted  beside  a hole,  in  which  a grave-dig- 
ger, wearing  a long,  brown-striped  poncho , placed  the  coffin  of  the  an- 
gclito,  and  stamped  down  the  earth — thud ! thud ! thud ! Then  the 
group  left  the  cemetery,  gay  and  happy,  at  the  same  rapid  Indian  walk- 
ing pace,  the  bereaved  mother  carrying  a black  wooden  cross  with  a 
white  embroidered  band  or  stole  wound  round  it.  These  people  were 
not  sad  over  the  death  of  the  babe,  because,  according  to  the  South 
American  superstition,  they  believe  that,  having  been  baptized,  it  would 
go  directly  to  paradise,  and  become  a little  angel — an  angelito.  And 
so  they  returned  down  the  sandy  lane  rejoicing,  with  elastic  and  grace- 
ful step,  a charm  of  slender  silhouettes  and  a floating  of  bright-colored 
drapery  that  reminded  one  of  the  frescos  of  Ghirlandajo  and  Bernar- 
dino Luini. 

The  town  of  Asuncion  is  not  rich  in  monuments.  Although  it 
is  the  oldest  city  on  the  South-American  continent,  it  has  no  relics  of 
the  conqtiistadores , whose  aim,  it  is  to  be  feared,  was  always  to  enrich 
themselves  rather  than  to  create  a healthy  and  noble  civilization. 
Apart  from  the  churches,  one  of  which  is  in  ruins,  having  been  gutted 
by  fire,  the  only  buildings  of  note  are  the  palace  of  the  tyrant  Lopez, 
which  has  now  been  repaired  for  use  as  Government  offices,  the 


392 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


theatre,  the  railway  station,  and  the  old  Cabildo.  The  theatre  is  hand- 
some, and  more  commodious  than  many  a famous  European  house. 
It  is  entirely  lighted  by  electricity,  and  in  the  boxes  are  electric  bells 
to  call  for  refreshments.  The  decoration  of  the  three  tiers  of  boxes 


! 


4, 


VIEW  OF  THE  LOPEZ  PALACE  FROM  THE  RIVER. 

and  galleries  is  agreeable.  The  cartouches  round  the  ceiling  give  to 
Moliere  the  place  of  honor  over  the  proscenium,  with  Gounod  on  the 
left  and  Massenet  on  the  right,  while  the  remaining  cartouches  are 
assigned  to  Racine,  Corneille,  Lulli,  Wagner,  Shakespeare,  Alar9on, 
Lopez  de  Vega,  Schumann,  Mozart,  Beaumarchais,  Hugo,  Berlioz, 
Beethoven,  Scribe,  Goethe,  Donizetti,  Verdi,  and  Calderon.  The  ad- 
miration of  the  Paraguayans  is  well  employed  in  theory,  but  it  is  to 
be  feared  that  the  only  musical  or  dramatic  pleasure  that  they  get 
is  afforded  by  very  indifferent  ambulant  zarziiela  companies.  If  Lo- 
pez had  been  allowed  to  carry  out  his  dream  of  greatness  things  would 
have  been  different,  for  his  desire  was  to  endow  Asuncion  with  a thea- 
tre as  vast  as  that  of  La  Scala  at  Milan.  The  prodigious  edifice  was 
carried  up  to  a height  of  some  twenty  feet  above  ground,  and  now 
stands  a deserted  and  melancholy  pile  of  moss-covered  masonry  in  the 
midst  of  the  town,  unfinished,  and  never  likely  to  be  finished.  Yet 
another  unfinished  monument  of  past  grandeur  is  the  church  and 
dome  called  the  Pantheon  of  Lopez.  This  edifice,  like  the  theatre, 
is  a huge  brick  skeleton,  with  weeds  and  wild  flowers  growing  on  the 
ledges  of  the  cupola,  which,  in  the  dream  of  the  founder,  was  destined 
to  shelter  the  remains  of  a South- American  Napoleon. 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


393 


Of  the  several  plazas  of  Asuncion,  the  most  interesting  is  the  Plaza 
Independencia,  neatly  fenced  in,  planted  with  palm-trees,  and  adorned 
with  a column  on  which  are  commemorative  inscriptions  of  the  foun- 
dation of  the  country,  the  first  cry  of  liberty,  the  declaration  of  inde- 
pendence, and  the  proclamation  of  the  national  Constitution : 

Fundacion  del  Paraguay,  15  de  Agosto  de  1536. 

Primer  Grito  de  la  Libertad,  14  de  Mayo  de  1811. 

Jura  de  la  Independencia  Nacional,  25  de  Diciembre  de  1842. 

Jura  de  la  Constitucion  Nacional,  25  de  Noviembre  de  1870. 

Around  this  plaza  is  much  open  space,  cavalry  barracks  and  in- 
fantry barracks,  with  a colonnade  along  the  front,  under  which  you 
see  the  soldiers  sitting  with  their  women  folk,  some  of  them  nursing 
their  children,  others  drinking  mate , and  all  smoking  cigars,  both  men 


and  women  alike.  At  sunset 
the  military  band  plays  in  an 
informal  way,  and  in  the  dis- 
tance the  lights  are  seen  burn- 
% ing  in  the  Church  of  San 
Francisco,  on  the  edge  of 
the  cliffs,  below  which 
you  see  the  primitive 
semi -Indian  huts  of 
the  Chacarita  quarter, 

and  below  that  the  vast  landscape  of  the  winding  river,  and  the  dark 
woodland  solitudes  of  the  Chaco. 

For  the  artistic  visitor  the  chief  interest  of  Asuncion  is  the  street 


PLAZA  LIBERTAD,  ASUNCION. 


394 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


life,  and  particularly  the  central  market,  where  almost  all  the  types  of 
the  country  may  be  seen.  In  the  early  morning  the  vast  open  space 
in  front  of  the  market  is  thronged  with  donkeys,  pack-mules,  carts, 
teams  of  oxen,  dogs,  and  peasants,  who  have  come  in  from  the  country 
to  sell  produce  and  buy  provisions.  The  ox-carts  are  smaller  and  dif- 


SOLDIERS  AND  THEIR  WOMEN  AT  THE  BARRACKS. 

ferent  in  form  from  the  “prairie  schooners”  of  the  Argentine.  They 
have  massive  wooden  axles  and  open  wheels,  wooden  frames  with  floor 
and  sides  of  bamboo,  a roof  of  hides,  and  suspended  from  the  roof 
through  a ring  may  generally  be  seen  a bamboo  pole,  or  goad,  long 
enough  to  enable  the  driver  to  reach  from  the  cart  to  the  foremost  of 
his  three  yokes  of  oxen.  The  market  is  thronged  with  old  and  young 
women,  each  one  smoking  or  chewing  a cigar.  Almost  all  of  them 
are  dressed  in  white,  only  a few  wearing  black  shawls.  The  costume 
consists  of  a cotton  skirt  with  two  flounces,  a low-necked  loose  camisole 
tied  around  the  waist,  and  over  all  a white  cotton  shawl  that  serves  as 


THE  MARKET,  ASUNCION. 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


397 


manta  or  burnoose.  Some  of  the  more  coquettish  complete  their  toi- 
let by  the  addition  of  a comb  in  their  back  hair,  which  is  generally 
worn  in  the  Indian  style  in  two  long  braids.  These  women  all  carry 
burdens  on  their  heads,  however  light  they  may  be.  I saw  women 
carrying  even  letters  on  their  heads  on  the  way  to  the  post-office. 
Throughout  the  day  you  see  women  going  about  the  streets  with  red 
earthen  water-pots  on  their  heads.  The  form  of  these  pots,  their 
rough  ornamentation  of  coarsely-painted  flowers,  the  dark  skins  of  the 
women,  and  their  white  burnoose-like  costumes  combined,  remind  one 
of  the  women  of  Biskra. 

Inside  the  market,  besides  the  various  stalls  for  the  sale  of  vege- 
tables, provisions  of 
all  kinds,  and  dry- 
goods,  there  are  sev- 
eral  restaurants, 
where  smoking  cal- 
drons of  stew  are 
presided  over  by  act- 
ive matrons  ; and 
along  all  the  alleys 
the  pavement  is  oc- 
cupied by  women  of 
all  ages  squatting  in 
groups,  mostly  Gua- 
rani Indians,  inter- 
spersed with  a few 
negresses  and  mu- 
lattoes,  all  smoking, 
looking  sad,  thin, and 
miserable,  and,  with 
very  few  exceptions, 
exceedingly  ugly. 

Occasionally,  how- 
ever, you  see  a Gua- 


INSIDE  THE  MARKET. 


rene  face,  fine  eyes, 

well-formed  and  even  beautiful  features.  But,  on  the  whole,  it  would 
be  difficult  to  find  a more  complete  collection  of  ugly  and  lean  old 
women  than  that  to  be  seen  in  the  market  of  Asuncion.  They  sit 


398 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


there  comparatively  silent,  abandoned  to  their  fate,  with  their  merchan- 
dise spread  out  on  the  floor  in  front  of  them — a few  cobs  of  maize,  a 
few  bundles  of  rough  cigars  tied  up  with  sewing-cotton,  little  piles  of 
mandioca , sweet-potatoes,  oranges,  peanuts,  sugar-cane,  some  vegeta- 
bles and  salad,  two  or  three  cheeses  badly  made,  a bunch  of  bananas, 

or  what  not.  Some  of  them  sell  charcoal  tied 
up  in  little  sacks  about  six  inches  long  that 
look  like  toys.  All  these  women  speak  in  a 
whining,  deprecatory  tone.  If  you  ask  the 
price  of  a thing,  they  answer  almost  whimper- 
ingly, as  if  it  pained  them  to  tell  you.  Outside 
the  market,  under  the  colonnade,  you  see  sim- 
ilar groups  of  young  and  old  women  squatting 
in  front  of  little  heaps  of  produce  and  wait- 
ing for  customers;  and  other  groups  of  wom- 
en gliding  along  barefooted  and  noiselessly, 
indolent  and  ruminative,  each  one  with  a ci- 
gar between  her  lips.  The  bazaars  of  the  Le- 
vant can  alone  offer  scenes  analogous  to  the 
market  life  of  Asuncion.  During  the  daytime 
these  women  in  white  and  the  various  pop- 
ular types  are  to  be  seen  in  the  streets,  which, 
however,  are  generally  very  empty,  for  Asun- 
cion is  still  a dead  city;  business  and  mod- 
ernization advance  very  slowly.  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  main  street,  where  there  are 
banks  and  offices,  a few  export  houses,  and 
some  big  general  stores — mostly  in  the  hands 
of  Italians  and  Germans — the  streets  of  Asun- 
cion suggest  rather  those  of  a country  vil- 
capital  of  a republic.  What  better  instances 
can  we  give  than  the  fact  that  carriages  cannot  pass  through  many 
of  them,  and  that  within  a hundred  yards  of  the  main  Calle  de  las 
Palmas,  I saw  cows  turned  out  to  graze  in  the  roadway,  day  after  day, 
under  the  shade  of  the  telephone  wires  ? 

The  streets  of  Asuncion  are  most  animated  in  the  early  morning 
hours,  but  there  never  seems  to  be  much  movement,  much  less  any 
hurrying.  At  eleven  o’clock,  winter  and  summer,  all  business  ceases, 
the  whole  town  breakfasts,  and  after  breakfast  takes  a long  siesta. 


TYPE  OF  GUARANI  GIRL. 


lage  than  those  of  the 

O 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


399 


The  cessation  of  all  work  and  locomotion  is  so  complete  that  from 
1 1 a.m.  until  2 p.m.,  the  horse-cars  even  interrupt  their  service.  In 
the  afternoon  business  is  resumed  in  a leisurely  way  until  the  hour  for 
taking  aperitives,  when  the  two  or  three  cafes  and  confiterias  and  the 
clubs  are  full  of  men  enjoying  life.  In  the  evening  the  shops  are 
lighted  up,  and  there  is  a certain  amount  of  promenading.  The  peo- 
ple of  the  upper  and  middle  classes  seem,  however,  to  form  a very 
small  minority.  Nevertheless,  there  are  some  few  Parisian  costumes, 
and  a score  or  so  of  stove-pipe  hats  worn  by  bank  directors,  ministers, 
and  political  notabilities,  whose  sayings  and  doings  are  commented  by 
the  two  daily  papers,  La  Democracia  and  La  Razon , and  whose  per- 
sons are  caricatured  by  the  satirical  weekly,  El Latigo  Immortal.  Half 
the  articles  of  this  latter  journal  are  printed  in  the  Guarani  language. 

Such  being  the  backward  but  picturesque  condition  of  the  capital 
of  Paraguay,  what  must  be  that  of  the  provincial  towns  and  villages? 
The  traveller  can  easily  judge  by  a trip  250  miles  up  the  river  to  Villa 
Concepcion,  or  by  a railway  journey  towards  Villa  Rica;  but  except 
from  the  point  of  view  of  the  lover  of  landscape  and  tropical  nature, 
there  is  not  much  to  make  the  journey  worth  one’s  while.  Villa  Con- 
cepcion is  immeasurably  less  advanced  than  Asuncion,  and  less  pictu- 
resque, and  the  other  towns  and  villages  offer  nothing  of  interest.  As 
for  visiting  parts  of  Paraguay  not  on  the  two  routes  above  mentioned, 
the  want  of  roads  and  ways  of  communication  renders  the  task  long 
and  toilsome. 

As  regards  the  future  of  Paraguay,  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  the 
country  has  great  natural  resources,  and  that  it  could  be  immensely 
and  rapidly  developed  by  the  introduction  of  European  colonists.  It 
is  probable,  too,  that  the  English  capitalists  will  in  the  near  future 
manifest  greater  and  greater  interest  in  Paraguay,  and  that  a part  of 
the  interest  hitherto  monopolized  by  the  Argentine  Republic  will  be 
transferred  from  the  discredited  country  to  the  new  paradise  in  the  in- 
terior, where  the  conditions  in  general  are  not  unfavorable,  as  we  have 
already  seen.  Furthermore,  if  we  admit  that  progress  is  desirable,  and 
that  it  is  good  for  men  to  toil  and  earn  their  bread  by  the  sweat  of 
their  brows,  and  abstraction  being  made  of  humane  and  sentimental 
considerations,  it  might  be  argued  that  the  war  almost  of  extermina- 
tion which  the  Argentines  and  the  Brazilians  wa^ed  against  the  Para- 
guayans  was  a blessing  for  the  country  and  for  humanity,  inasmuch  as 
it  destroyed  thousands  of  useless  creatures,  and  left  the  ground  clear 


400 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


for  new  energy.  The  native  element  cannot  be  counted  upon  as  an 
auxiliary  in  the  amelioration  of  Paraguay.  The  cross-breeds,  the  Gua- 
rani, and  the  other  Indian  races  that  form  the  actual  population,  to- 
gether with  a small  criollo  class,  cannot  be  induced  to  work  except 
under  the  hand  of  a despot  like  Lopez,  or  by  an  ingenious  and  pater- 
nal system  of  communism,  such  as  the  Jesuits  established  in  the  old 
colonial  days  in  their  missiones  on  the  Alto  Parana.  After  the  expul- 


VI EW  ON  THE  RIVER. 


sion  of  the  Jesuits,  it  may  be  remembered,  most  of  the  Guarani  Indians 
whom  they  had  civilized  and  exploited  retired  to  Paraguay,  where 
their  descendants  have  remained  to  the  present  day,  but,  of  course, 
lost  in  the  masses.  These  natives  refuse  to  work  in  a regular  manner. 

The  proprietors  of  the  palm-oil  manufactory  near  Asuncion  as- 
sured me  that  their  greatest  difficulty  was  to  get  nuts.  It  is  only 
when  they  are  on  the  verge  of  starvation  that  the  natives  will  take  the 
trouble  to  slather  nuts  and  bring:  them  to  the  mill.  Butter  is  very  rare 
in  the  Paraguayan  capital,  because  the  peasants  will  not  attend  to 
their  cows,  lead  them  to  good  pasture,  and  work  a churn.  At  Asun-^ 
cion  we  have  seen  the  cows  turned  out  into  the  street  to  graze,  where 
there  is  next  to  nothing  to  eat.  At  Villa  Concepcion  the  case  is  the 
same,  whereas,  if  the  cows  were  led  half  a mile  to  the  edge  of  the  town 
they  would  find  abundant  pasture,  and  give  good  milk.  This  is  only 
one  instance  out  of  a thousand.  Take,  again,  those  old  and  young 
women  we  saw  squatting  in  the  market,  with  little  scraps  of  produce 
spread  out  before  them.  Suppose  they  sell  this  for  ten  cents,  they 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


401 


have  enough  to  buy  mate,  tobacco,  and  mandioca , which  are  their  chief 
aliments,  and  thus  they  keep  the  household  going,  with  the  help  of 
oranges,  that  lie  in  many  places  a foot  deep  on  the  ground.  A caustic 
observer  has  said  that  the  Paraguayan  peasant  lives  on  mate  and  the 
smell  of  a greased  rag.  The  greased  rag  is  an  exaggeration.  Mate , 
mandioca , tobacco,  sugar-cane,  oranges,  and  cana  rum  as  a luxury,  such 
are  the  ordinary  and  extraordinary  articles  of  consumption.  With 
poor  food  such  as  this,  the  men  are  naturally  weak  and  indolent;  and 
being  at  the  same  time  the  lords  of  creation,  they  pass  their  lives  in 
meditative  laziness,  and  leave  the  women  to  do  what  little  work  is  ab- 
solutely required  to  keep  a roof  over  their  heads.  These  Paraguayans, 
poor  and  ignorant  as  they  may  be,  are  proud  and  susceptible;  they 
never  say  “ Thank  you  ” except  as  a formula  of  refusal ; it  is  useless  to 
order  them  about;  they  must  be  treated  with  gentleness  and  persua- 
sion, as  equals,  and  even  then  not  much  can  be  got  out  of  them.  So  I 
was  told  by  a dozen  men  who  have  had  varied  experience  in  the  coun- 
try. The  educated  Paraguayans  themselves  admit  this  much,  but 
without  notable  disapproval;  and  with  an  impatient  click  of  the  tongue 
against  the  teeth,  and  much  writhing  and  shrugging  of  neck  and 
shoulders,  they  will  protest  against  Americanism,  progress,  and  doing 
things  quickly.  “ It  is  not  in  the  character  of  the  nation,”  they  will 
say.  “It  is  in  our  nature  to  go  on  slowly,  quietly,  without  effort,  and 
fortune  comes  to  us  almost  while  we  are  sleeping.” 

A French  gentleman  who  has  recently  organized  a colony  called 
Villa  Sana,  about  twenty  leagues  north-east  of  Villa  Concepcion,  on 
land  belonging  to  the  Paraguayo-Argentine  Land  Company,  told  me 
that  in  the  beginning,  when  he  went  to  survey  the  ground  and  to  as- 
certain its  exact  whereabouts — always  a troublesome  business  in  these 
countries,  where  there  is  as  yet  no  topographical  survey— he  had  the 
greatest  difficulty  in  inducing  half  a dozen  Paraguayans  to  accompany 
him.  They  told  him  that  he  would  never  find  the  land,  that  he  would 
be  unable  to  cross  the  river  Aquidaban,  and,  in  short,  that  his  was  a 
wild-goose  chase.  However,  when  they  arrived  at  the  river,  and  the 
Frenchman  simply  jumped  in  and  swam  across,  their  amour  propre 
was  touched,  and  they  swam  after  him.  These  half-dozen  Paraguay- 
ans have  remained  attached  to  the  colony,  but  they  have  lost  the  es- 
teem of  their  countrymen.  When,  after  the  exploring  expedition,  our 
Frenchman  started  from  Villa  Concepcion  with  his  sixty  colonists  and 
his  train  of  bullock-carts  and  impedimenta,  the  loafers  of  the  town 
26 


402 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


said  to  the  few  Paraguayans  who  accompanied  him.  and  were  helping 
in  the  loading : “ What  ? Are  you  as  big  fools  as  those  Europeans, 
to  work  like  that  ?” 

In  Paraguay  you  generally  see  the  men  idling  and  the  women 
working;  the  men  riding  on  horse,  and  the  women  following  on  foot. 
The  women  are  no  better  than  slaves ; they  are  productive  elements 
like  cattle.  On  one  estate  I found  an  old  French  colonist  who  had  a 
Guarani  wife,  whom  he  treated  according  to  the  native  fashion,  mak- 
ing her  work,  and  even  beating  her  from  time  to  time,  but,  he  said  to 
me,  “ I do  not  treat  her  so  hardly  as  my  native  neighbors,  for  I allow 
her  to  sit  at  table  with  me,  and  she  looks 
upon  me  in  consequence  as  if  I were  a god. 

Que  voulez-vous , monsieur ? It  is  the  cus- 
tom of  the  country  to  treat  the  women  as 
slaves ; they  expect  it,  and  if  they  were 
treated  otherwise  they  would  be  no  good.” 

As  for  the  Indians,  they  are  worse  than 
the  Paraguayans ; they  do  not  want  money, 
but  if  they  happen  to  be  hungry,  they  will 
do  a fair  amount  of  work  in  order  to  earn 
a breakfast;  then,  when  they  have  eaten  their 
fill,  they  dance  with  joy  and  depart.  Noth- 
ing can  retain  them ; they  have  all  they 


f 


AN  ESTANCIA. 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  PARAGUAY. 


403 


desire  for  the  moment,  and  are  absolutely  incapable  of  thought  for 
the  morrow. 

The  evidence  I gathered  from  the  most  various  sources  about  the 
Paraguayan  natives  was  always  the  same.  An  English  ex-naval  officer 
and  ex-elephant  hunter  in  Africa,  who  has  a cane  distillery  near  Para- 
guari,  was  of  opinion  that  Paraguay  is  not  going  to  improve  in  the 
immediate  future.  In  twenty  or  thirty  years’  time,  when  the  popula- 
tion has  increased  and  life  become  more  difficult,  there  may  be  a 
change.  At  present  the  people  have  mandioca  and  oranges  in  abun- 
dance ; they  need  not  work,  and  they  will  not  work.  This  gentleman 
thought  that  the  Paraguayans  were  most  happy  under  the  severe 
tyranny  of  Francia  and  Lopez,  when  they  were  all  practically  slaves, 
and  he  regretted  that  foreigners  are  now  allowed  to  come  in  and  buy 
land,  because  it  means  to  the  natives  an  ultimate  loss  of  nationality. 
Another  Englishman,  who  had  been  three  years  cattle-farming  at  San 
Ignacio,  told  me  that  ever  since  he  had  been  there  he  had  never  got  a 
stroke  of  work  out  of  the  natives  dwelling  on  his  land ; they  live  on 
oranges,  mandioca , and  mate,  and  will  not  work.  On  his  estancia  he 
has  20,000  orange-trees,  but  for  want  of  means  of  transportation  the 
fruit  has  no  market  value.  Under  the  trees  the  oranges  lie  on  the 
ground  a foot  deep,  and  the  cattle  eat  them  and  fatten  well.  This  ob- 
server suggested  that  it  might  be  a good  thing  for  Paraguay  if  the 
Government  caused  the  orange-trees  to  be  cut  down,  as  the  Govern- 
ment of  Costa  Rica  at  one  time  had  the  bananiers  destroyed,  with  a 
view  to  stamping  out  laziness  and  obliging  the  people  to  work  for 
their  bread.  All  this  seems  strange.  Nature  and  the  Jesuits  have 
given  these  Paraguayans  the  means  of  life  and  of  oblivious  felicity  in 
the  shape  of  mandioca , oranges,  mate,  and  tobacco.  They  enjoy  a 
climate  so  delightful  that  clothes  are  scarcely  needed.  And  yet  the 
meddlesome  Europeans  are  surprised  and  irritated  because  they  do 
not  work.  Why  should  the  Paraguayans  work? 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


HE  Republic  of  Uruguay,  after  having  been  convulsed  by  intes- 


_L  tine  dissensions  for  so  many  years,  has  now  entered  what  is 
called  the  path  of  progress  and  prosperity.  Like  the  other  South- 
American  republics,  it  made  a great  display  of  its  wealth  and  civiliza- 
tion at  the  Paris  Exhibition  of  1889,  and  its  painstaking  statisticians 
drew  up  prodigious  tables  of  figures,  from  which  we  were  able  to 
gather  much  interesting  information  about  this  rich  and  favored  land. 
In  many  cases  the  data  given  by  the  official  publication  referred  to  re- 
quire to  be  completed  and  controlled,  which  can  only  be  the  work  of 
time  and  of  laborious  investigations;  but  their  chief  defect  is  the  ab- 
sence of  qualifying  clauses.  This  defect,  it  is  to  be  feared,  is  insepara- 
ble from  official  reports.  In  such  documents  everything  is  presented 
in  roseate  tones ; all  that  is  positive  is  stated ; all  that  is  negative  is 
omitted ; and,  of  course,  whatever  is  concerned  with  the  details  of  life 
and  national  character  is  considered  too  trivial  to  be  dwelt  upon.  Let 
us  endeavor  to  state  with  the  utmost  brevity  the  physical  and  econom- 
ical condition  of  the  country,  and  to  resume  in  general  terms  the  im- 
pressions of  a short  visit  to  the  Banda  Oriental,  as  this  Republic  is 
generally  called  in  South  America. 

First  of  all,  let  it  be  stated  that  the  Republic  of  Uruguay  is  sit- 
uated in  the  temperate  zone  of  South  America,  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Rio  de  la  Plata,  between  30°  5'  and  350  south  latitude,  and  56"  15'  and 
6oJ  45'  west  longitude  from  the  meridian  of  Paris.  On  the  north  and 
east  the  territory  is  bounded  by  Brazil;  south-east  and  south  by  the 
Atlantic;  south-west  and  west  by  the  rivers  La  Plata  and  Uruguay, 
which  separate  it  from  the  Argentine  Republic.  The  shape  of  the 
territory  is  a polygon,  almost  entirely  surrounded  by  water,  except  in 
the  centre  of  the  Brazilian  frontier.  Its  perimeter  is  1075  miles,  of 
which  626  are  sea  and  river  coast.  The  superficies  is  calculated  to 
be  63,330  geographical  miles,  or  186,920  square  kilometres;  in  other 
words,  it  is  about  one- sixth  larger  than  England.  The  territory  is 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


405 


divided  into  nineteen  departments.  The  physical  aspect  presents  a 
strong  contrast  with  the  flat,  treeless,  and  often  arid  pampas  of  the 
Argentine;  the  Banda  Oriental  abounds  in  wood,  water,  and  hills;  from 
end  to  end  the  undulation  is  continuous,  and  in  some  departments,  for 
instance  Minas,  one  might  almost  imagine  one's  self  in  Switzerland, 
so  fine  does  the  hill  and  mountain  scenery  become.  The  climate  is 
moist,  mild,  and  healthy,  and  there  are  really  only  two  seasons,  summer 
and  winter,  with  a maximum  of  36  centigrade  in  January,  and  a mini- 
mum of  30  above  zero  in  July.  The  hill  chains  are  numerous,  and 
spread  over  the  whole  country,  forming  countless  streams,  rivers,  and 
lakes.  There  are  also  many  isolated  hills,  like  the  Cerro  of  Monte- 
video. The  greatest  height  of  the  mountains,  if  they  may  be  so  called, 
is  500  metres,  attained  by  the  Cuchilla  Grande,  490  by  the  Cuchilla  de 
Santa  Ana,  and  455  by  the  Cuchilla  de  Minas. 

The  important  rivers  number  seventeen,  of  which  the  chief  are  the 
Plata,  the  Uruguay,  and  the  Rio  Negro,  the  last  of  which  runs  through 
the  centre  of  the  territory.  The  Uruguay  River  is  navigable  as  far  as 
Paysandu  for  ocean-going  ships,  and  as  far  as  Salto  for  coasters  and 
for  the  passenger  steamers  of  light  draught  of  the  Platense  Company. 
The  distance  from  Buenos  Ayres  to  Salto  is  306  miles,  which  the 
Platense  steamers  accomplish  in  thirty-six  hours.  . The  outflow  of  the 
Uruguay  River  is  about  one -fourth  only  of  the  Parana,  averaging 
11,000,000  cubic  feet  per  minutd,  or  almost  as  much  as  the  Ganges. 
The  scenery  of  the  Uruguay  resembles  that  of  the  Parana,  being  in 
some  places  perhaps  a little  bolder  and  more  picturesque,  but  in  gen- 
eral the  aspect  of  the  banks,  of  the  bluffs,  and  of  the  towns  offers  noth- 
ing strikingly  different  from  what  may  be  seen  on  the  Parana  between 
Martin  Garcia  and  Corrientes.  The  Rio  Negro  crosses  the  Republic, 
from  its  source  in  the  Cuchilla  de  Santa  Telia  in  Brazil  to  its  conflu- 
ence with  the  Uruguay,  running  from  north-west  to  west  over  a dis- 
tance of  463  kilometres.  Small  schooners  can  navigate  this  river  up 
to  fifty-five  miles  from  its  mouth.  The  water-shed  of  the  Rio  Negro 
covers  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  Republic,  and  the  soft  scenery  of  its 
banks  is  characteristic  of  large  sections  of  the  country.  The  other 
thirteen  rivers  of  the  Republic  have  courses  varying  from  245  kilo- 
metres to  150  kilometres,  and  receive  more  than  1500  affluents;  most 
of  them,  too,  are  navigable  up  to  fifteen,  twenty,  and  thirty  miles  from 
their  mouths. 

Abundantly  irrigated  and  fertile  in  the  majority  of  the  depart- 


406 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


ments  of  the  Republic,  the  soil  produces  every  kind  of  grain  or  fruit 
known  in  temperate  or  subtropical  climes.  For  cattle-raising  it  is 
the  finest  country  in  South  America,  the  animals  finding  water,  good 
pasture,  and  the  shelter  of  trees,  hills,  and  valleys  throughout  the  year; 
whereas  on  the  plains  of  the  Argentine  horned  cattle  and  sheep 
perish  by  thousands  from  want  of  water  and  dearth  in  the  summer, 
and  from  exposure  and  inundations  in  the  winter.  As  regards  min- 
erals, the  territory  of  Uruguay  is  rich  in  all  the  industrial  and  precious 
metals  and  stones,  from  gold  and  diamonds  down  to  lead,  agates,  and 
cornaline;  but  owing  to  the  want  of  roads  and  means  of  transport,  the 
mining  industry  has  not  yet  been  developed  or  even  carefully  studied. 

The  chief  industry  of  Uruguay  is  c "’e-raising.  The  number  of 


animals  declared  in  1887  amounted  in  to  more  than  22,000,000 
head,  comprising  horned  cattle,  6,1 19,482  ; sheep,  15,905,441;  horses, 
408,452.  The  proportion  per  square  kilometre  is  120.13  head,  and 
per  inhabitant,  34.64.  The  above  figures  are  those  of  the  Anuario 
Estadistico , published  at  Montevideo  in  1889.  In  the  tables  posted 
up  in  the  Pavilion  of  Uruguay  at  the  Paris  Exhibition,  the  total 
number  of  cattle  existing  in  the  Republic  was  stated  to  be  32,000,000, 
having  a value  of  407,000,000  francs,  an  ox  being  estimated  at  60 
francs,  a horse  at  30  francs,  a sheep  at  4 francs,  and  a pig  at  30 
francs.  The  difference  of  10,000,000  head  is  more  than  the  normal 
increase  of  two  years.  The  discrepancy,  however,  need  not  astonish 
us;  the  Spanish- Americans  have  become  of  late  years  indefatigable 
compilers  of  statistical  tables,  but  few  of  these  tables  resist  careful 
scrutiny  and  control.  We  must  be  content  to  accept  the  figures 
given  as  being:  more  or  less  exact.  These  enormous  totals  mean 
clearly  that  Uruguay  is  essentially  a pastoral  country.  Agriculture, 
we  find,  is  developed  only  in  the  departments  of  Montevideo,  Cane- 
lones,  and  Colonia;  in  the  departments  of  the  interior  it  has  not  made 
any  notable  progress.  Nevertheless,  the  country  produces  more  ce- 
reals than  are  needed  for  home  consumption,  and  in  1887  upwards 
of  4,000,000  francs’  worth  of  grain  was  exported.  Efforts  have  been 
made  to  cultivate  vines  in  Uruguay,  and  the  experiments  promise  to 
be  successful. 

An  industry  derived  from  the  pastoral  is  that  of  the  saladeros — es- 
tablishments where  animals  are  killed,  and  their  hides,  flesh,  etc.,  salted 
or  otherwise  utilized.  In  Uruguay  the  great  saladeros  are  at  Monte- 
video, at  the  foot  of  the  Cerro,  and  at  Fray  Bentos,  Paysandu,  and 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


407 


Salto,  on  the  Uruguay  River.  The  model  establishment  and  the  most 
famous  is  that  of  Fray  Bentos,  where  Liebig’s  extract  of  beef  is 
made.  This  saladero , founded  in  1864,  kills  1000  animals  a day  dur- 
ing the  summer  season,  and  employs  600  men.  At  Montevideo  one  of 
the  best  saladeros  for  visiting  is  that  of  Cibils,  but  in  all  the  establish- 


MAP  OF  URUGUAY. 

ments  the  processes  of  slaughtering  and  cutting  up  are  the  same,  and 
the  scene  of  bloodshed  equally  nauseating.  The  meat,  cut  into  long 
bands,  salted,  and  dried  in  the  sun,  becomes  chorqui  or  tasajo,  and  is 
exported  in  bags  chiefly  to  Brazil  and  Cuba.  The  demand,  however,  is 
decreasing,  and  consequently,  both  in  Uruguay  and  in  the  Argentine, 
great  efforts  are  being  made  to  organize  the  exportation  of  live  cattle 


408 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  refrigerated  meat  on  a grand  scale  to  European  ports.  At  pres- 
ent between  700,000  and  800,000  head  of  cattle  are  killed  every  year 
in  the  Republic  of  Uruguay,  and  nearly  half  that  total  is  slaughtered 
in  the  saladcros  of  Montevideo. 

The  population  of  the  Republica  Oriental  del  Uruguay  was  esti- 
mated in  1888  at  687,194  souls.  The  latest  census  of  the  department 
of  Montevideo,  taken  November  18,  1889,  gave  a total  of  214,682  in- 
habitants, comprising  1 14,578  natives  and  100,104  foreigners,  of  whom 
four-fifths  live  in  the  city  of  Montevideo  itself. 

The  density  of  the  population  in  the  whole  Republic  in  1888  was 
3.46  inhabitants  per  square  kilometre ; but,  taking  the  density  depart- 
ment by  department,  we  find  308.54  per  square  kilometre  in  Monte- 
video, 14.76  in  Canelones,  6.40  in  Colonia,  and  then  dwindling  down 
in  the  remaining  departments  from  3.26  to  0.55  in  Artigas.  Four  de- 
partments— Durazno,  Minas,  Treinta  y Tres,  and  Cerro  Largo — have 
only  1. 6 1 inhabitants  to  the  square  kilometre.  These  figures  explain 
the  lonely  aspect  of  the  country  as  one  crosses  it  even  by  rail.  Al- 
most the  third  part  of  the  population  of  the  Republic  lives  in  Monte- 
video. Outside  of  Montevideo  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen  but  undu- 
lating prairies,  flocks  and  herds,  ranchos , wood,  water,  sky,  and  a few 
human  beings  riding  along  with  their  ponchos  sweeping  their  horses’ 
flanks.  The  country  being  essentially  pastoral,  the  chief,  and  one 
might  say  almost  the  only,  articles  of  exportation  are  live-stock  and 
animal  products  known  as  productos  de  ganaderia,  including  wool,  hair, 
bones,  dried  meat,  hides,  tallow,  etc.  England,  France,  Germany,  and 
Brazil  are  the  countries  that  do  most  trade  with  Uruguay,  both  in  ex- 
portation and  importation. 

From  the  statements  made  in  connection  with  the  payment  of  the 
direct  taxes,  it  appears  that  in  1887,  the  date  given  by  the  latest  offi- 
cial statistics,  the  value  of  property  declared  amounted  to  $272,529,674 
(gold),  and  the  number  of  proprietors  to  54,761.  Of  this  total  the 
majority — 51.34  per  cent. — are  foreigners,  namely,  28,112,  and  26,649, 
or  48.66  per  cent.,  Uruguayans.  The  most  numerous  foreigners  are 
Italians  (8329);  then  follow  in  order,  Spaniards  (7724),  Brazilians 
(6776),  French  (2895),  Argentines  (842),  English  (492),  Germans  (356), 
Swiss  (271),  Portuguese  (267),  etc.  As  regards  the  value  of  property 
held  by  foreigners,  the  Brazilians  head  the  list  with  $50,823,238;  the 
Spaniards  and  Italians  follow  with  $31,000,000  and  $30,000,000;  then 
the  French  with  $16,000,000,  the  English  with  $8,000,000,  the  Argen- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


409 


tine  with  $5,000,000,  the  Germans  with  $3,000,000 ; and,  lastly,  the 
Portuguese  and  other  nationalities.  In  the  provinces  it  is  important 
to  note  that  the  Brazilians  are  the  most  numerous  foreign  property- 
holders  after  the  natives,  their  number  being  6716.  The  Spaniards, 
Italians,  and  French  follow,  with  5904,  4429,  and  1843  respectively. 

The  principal  revenue  of  the  Uruguayan  Republic  is  derived 
from  the  customs  duties,  which  amount  to  46,500,000  francs  in  a 
total  budget  of  about  70,000,000  francs ; the  property  taxes  give 
about  6,000,000  francs,  and  the  balance  is  produced  by  post-office, 
stamps,  patents,  licenses,  etc.  These  figures  are  enough  to  indicate 
that  Uruguay  is  extremely  protectionist.  Indeed,  the  first  article  of 
the  customs  lawT  of  1888  says  that  “all  foreign  merchandise  imported 
for  consumption  ” shall  pay  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  31  per  cent.,  except 
arms,  powder,  cheese,  butter,  ham,  meat,  etc.,  which  pay  51  per  cent.; 
hats,  clothes,  shoes,  furniture,  carriages,  etc.,  48  per  cent. ; chocolate, 
candles,  and  various  comestibles,  44  per  cent.  I quote  only  two  or 
three  instances,  which  will  suffice  to  explain  for  what  reasons  living  is 
very  dear  in  the  Banda  Oriental,  and  wages  only  apparently  high. 

The  political  organization  is  that  of  a representative  republic,  and 
the  Constitution  is  modelled  on  that  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America.  The  President  is  elected  for  a period  of  four  years,  and, 
owing  to  causes  analogous  to  those  existing  in  the  Argentine  Repub- 
lic, this  dignitary  has  hitherto  exercised  almost  absolute  power,  nulli- 
fying the  sovereignty  of  the  people  and  practically  appointing  his 
successor.  The  last  President  — General  Tajes  — created  a notable 
precedent  in  South-American  politics  by  refusing  to  interfere  in  the 
nomination  of  his  successor,  or  even  to  express  a personal  preference 
for  any  particular  candidate.  This  conduct  was  much  commended 
and  warmly  applauded  by  the  liberal  Argentine  and  Chilian  press  in 
the  beginning  of  1890,  when  the  Uruguayans,  for  the  first  time,  were 
left  free  to  elect  their  President.  The  successful  candidate  was 
Senor  Herrera  y Obes.  Political  life,  however,  is  very  torpid  in  this 
thinly-inhabited  pastoral  land,  and  the  phenomena  that  it  presents  are 
neither  instructive  nor  interesting.  The  chief  point  to  be  noted  is 
that  since  the  period  of  revolutions  and  dictatorships  has  been  closed 
the  progress  of  the  country  has  been  rapid,  and  considerable  efforts 
are  being  made  to  promote  public  instruction,  public  works,  and  na- 
tional development  in  general. 

The  apparatus  of  public  instruction  consists  of  a university  at 


4io 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


Montevideo — with  upwards  of  600  students  and  60  professors — and  380 
public  schools,  of  which  62  are  in  the  Department  of  Montevideo,  and 
the  balance  in  the  other  provinces.  The  number  of  pupils  at  these 
schools  in  1888  was  18,000  boys  and  nearly  15,000  girls,  and  the 
teaching  staff  numbered  700,  of  whom  230  were  men  and  the  rest 
women.  The  cost  of  education  is  calculated  at  about  $16  (gold)  per 
head  per  annum.  The  number  of  private  schools  in  the  whole  Re- 
public is  about  400,  and  the  number  of  their  pupils  about  21,000. 
Of  these  private  schools  250  are  in  the  Department  of  Montevideo, 
and  the  rest  in  the  country.  The  teaching  staff  of  the  private  schools 
is  composed  of  some  800  persons,  the  majority  being  women ; and  of 
this  total  about  1 70  are  members  of  religious  communities.  At  Mon- 
tevideo there  is  a School  of  Arts  and  Trades,  with  over  200  pupils,  36 
professors,  and  24  experts,  installed  in  a fine  new  building  near  the 
Playa  Ramirez.  There  is  also  a military  college,  with  60  pupils,  sup- 
ported by  the  State,  who  come  out  with  the  grade  of  sub-lieutenant. 

The  army  of  Uruguay,  in  the  rank  and  file  of  which  are  many 
Africans  and  Indians,  is  remarkable  for  the  number  of  its  srenerals 
and  superior  officers.  It  is  composed  of  four  battalions  of  infantry, 
four  regiments  of  cavalry,  and  one  of  artillery,  forming  a total  of  3264 
soldiers,  197  officers,  and  21  generals  on  active  service,  to  say  nothing 
of  many  who  enjoy  pensions.  The  navy  consists  of  three  gunboats 
and  seven  small  steamers,  manned  by  119  men,  43  engineers  and 
stokers,  and  12  superior  officers  and  10  chiefs  (Jefcs).  With  the  ex- 
ception of  the  frontier  garrison  troops  and  of  those  stationed  in  the 
capital,  the  majority  of  the  soldiers  are  scattered  throughout  the  prov- 
inces, where  they  perform  the  duties  of  rural  police,  maintain  order 
in  the  villages,  and  stroll  down  to  the  railway-stations  to  see  the  trains 
pass  and  hear  the  news.  They  are  dressed  somewhat  in  the  French 
style,  and,  as  a rule,  look  rather  shabby  and  neglected. 

The  budget  of  the  Republic  for  1890-91  was  fixed  at  $16,081,- 
247.86,  and  the  revenues  were  estimated  at  $16,143,000,  thus  leaving 
a surplus  of  $61,752.14.  Generally  speaking,  the  finances  of  the 
country  have  been  of  late  years  in  a fair  condition,  and  the  Argentine 
crisis  arrived  just  in  time  to  arrest  certain  tendencies  towards  wild 
speculation  and  fictitious  operations,  which  were  beginning  to  mani- 
fest themselves  in  Montevideo  with  all  the  symptoms  that  had  been 
observed  in  Buenos  Ayres.  The  continuation  of  the  economical  crisis, 
and  the  subsequent  revolution  in  the  Argentine,  caused,  however, 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


4” 

grave  perturbations  in  the  commerce  and  finances  of  Montevideo,  as 
was  to  be  expected,  given  the  considerable  intercourse  between  these 
two  great  ports  of  La  Plata. 

The  Republic  of  Uruguay  is  still  poorly  provided  with  ways  of 
communication.  The  jolting  diligence  maintains  an  undisputed  reign 
over  the  greater  part  of  the  territory ; roads  are  wanting ; and  for 
these  reasons  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  country,  although  more  or  less 
known,  has  been  neglected.  But  as  the  railway  lines  advance  and 
branch  out,  we  are  likely  very  shortly  to  hear  of  the  creation  of  great 


A RANCHO. 


extractive  enterprises,  including  several  gold  mines.  As  in  the  Ar- 
gentine, the  railways  already  made,  in  making,  or  to  be  made  in  Uru- 
guay are  practically  the  monopoly  of  English  capital.  The  chief 
company  is  the  Central  Uruguay,  whose  three  trunk  lines  spread  out 


412 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


like  a duck’s  foot,  and  mark  the  whole  territory  as  their  own.  One 
line  runs  from  Montevideo  through  the  towns  of  La  Paz,  Piedras, 
Canelones,  Santa  Lucia,  Florida,  Durazno,  across  the  river  Yi  by 
means  of  a bridge  2005  feet  long  and  50  feet  high,  and  so  on  to 
Paso  de  los  Toros  and  Rio  Negro,  where  it  crosses  the  river  of  that 
name  over  a magnificent  bridge  resting  on  nine  pillars,  with  viaducts 
of  approach  at  each  end,  supported  by  eleven  pillars.  The  distance 
from  Montevideo  to  Paso  de  los  Toros  is  273  kilometres.  At  this 
latter  point  is  a junction  with  the  Midland  Uruguay  line,  which  runs 
to  the  important  town  of  Paysandu,  famous  for  its  canned  ox-tongues, 
and  thence  to  Salto,  having  a total  length  of  about  three  hundred  and 
eighteen  kilometres.  At  Salto  is  the  terminus  of  the  Ferrocarril 
Noroeste  del  Uruguay,  which  runs  to  Santa  Rosa  and  Cuareim,  a 
distance  of  nearly  one  hundred  and  seventy -nine  kilometres,  and 
works  in  combination  with  the  Brazilian  Great  Southern  Line,  be- 
tween Cuareim,  Uruguayana,  and  Itaqui.  This  line  is  of  great  im- 
portance for  commerce  with  Brazil  and  for  the  departments  of  Salto 
and  Paysandu,  because  the  navigation  of  the  Uruguay  from  Salto  up 
to  Brazil,  besides  the  obstacle  presented  by  the  falls,  is  frequently 
interrupted  by  the  sinking  of  the  waters  of  the  river. 

A branch  of  the  Central  Uruguay,  thirty-three  kilometres  long, 
runs  from  the  station  of  Veinte  Cinco  de  Agosto  as  far  as  San  Jose, 
and  there  are  projects  for  extending  the  line  to  Rosario,  and  thence 
to  Colonia,  to  Palmira,  and  to  Fray  Bentos ; but  there  is  no  proba- 
bility of  these  branches  being  built  for  years  to  come.  The  main 
lines  above  mentioned  form  a trunk  series,  connecting  the  western 
parts  of  Uruguay  with  Montevideo,  Brazil,  and  the  great  ports  of  the 
Uruguay  and  La  Plata  rivers. 

A second  trunk  line,  the  Ferrocarril  Nordeste  del  Uruguay, 
owned  by  the  Central  Uruguay,  runs  from  Montevideo  to  Minas,  a 
distance  of  122.615  kilometres,  with  thirteen  stations,  in  a rich  agri- 
cultural, marble,  and  stone-quarrying  region.  From  the  station  of 
Toledo  on  this  line,  a few  miles  only  from  Montevideo,  starts  a line 
300  kilometres  long  to  Nico  Perez,  with  a projected  ultimate  extension 
to  Artigas.  The  line  to  Nico  Perez  will  doubtless  be  open  for  traffic 
in  1892.  A third  trunk  line  is  the  extension  of  the  Central  Uruguay 
from  Paso  de  los  Toros  to  Rivera,  on  the  Brazilian  frontier,  which 
will  also  be  completed,  in  all  probability,  before  the  end  of  1892,  the 
distance  between  the  two  points  being  about  three  hundred  kilome- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


413 


tres.  From  Rivera  there  is  a length  of  about  seventy  kilometres  of 
railway  needed  to  reach  Cacequi,  a point  on  the  Brazilian  line  from 
Porto  Alegre  to  Uruguayana. 

This  system  of  rails  would  place  the  province  of  Rio  Grande  do 
Sul  in  direct  communication  with  Montevideo,  which  would  thus  be- 
come the  natural  port  of  this  rich  section  of  Brazil,  instead  of  Porto 


SANTA  LUCIA. 


Alegre,  which  is  practically  useless,  because  the  mouth  of  the  harbor 
is  blocked  up  with  sand  and  the  entrance  impossible  sometimes  for 
months  together.  Indeed,  even  at  present,  Montevideo  is  virtually 
the  port  of  Rio  Grande,  thanks  to  the  great  contraband  business  car- 
ried on  by  means  of  bullock-carts,  which  carry  European  goods  from 
Uruguay  across  the  frontier,  the  Brazilian  import  duties  being  so 
much  higher  than  those  of  the  Banda  Oriental  that  the  operation  is 
remunerative.  The  great  amount  of  business  already  done  between 
the  Republic  of  Uruguay  and  the  neighboring  Brazilian  province,  and 
the  near  prospect  of  closer  and  easier  communications,  thanks  to  rail- 
way extensions,  render  it  permissible  to  entertain  the  idea  of  the  pos- 
sible union  of  the  two,  the  more  so  as  the  interests  and  the  sympa- 
thies of  the  inhabitants  point  that  way ; for,  although  the  inhabitants 
of  the  province  of  Rio  Grande  are  Portuguese,  there  is  more  real 
affinity  between  them  and  the  Uruguayans  than  between  them  and 
the  Brazilians  of  the  tropical  regions.  The  number  of  Brazilians  who 


4*4 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


hold  property  in  Uruguay  is  a point  to  be  remembered  in  this  con- 
nection; and  the  advantage  of  strengthening  Uruguay,  and  establish- 
ing a buffer  republic  between  the  Argentine  and  the  vast  republic  of 
the  United  States  of  Brazil  is  one  which  might  find  favor  in  the  eyes 
of  the  diplomatists  of  both  hemispheres. 

It  is  not,  however,  our  business  to  discuss  the  possibilities  or  the 
probabilities  of  changes  in  the  territorial  divisions  of  South  America. 
Let  us  be  satisfied  to  state  things  as  they  are  at  present.  From  a 
glance  at  the  map,  then,  we  see  that  the  English  engineers  have  taken 
possession  of  Uruguay  as  they  took  possession  of  the  Argentine,  thus 
finding  at  the  same  time  an  excellent  investment  for  English  capital 
and  a field  for  the  activity  of  English  technical  employes.  These 
railways,  it  must  be  added,  are  all  guaranteed  by  the  State  of  Uru- 
guay, except  in  certain  cases — as,  for  instance,  the  original  trunk  line 
of  the  Central  Uruguay,  where  the  guarantee  has  been  abandoned. 
The  working  of  the  lines  and  the  rolling-stock  are  not,  of  course,  all 
that  could  be  desired;  but  we  must  always  bear  in  mind  that  progress 
has  only  been  recently  introduced  into  the  Banda  Oriental.  The  two 
terminus  stations  at  Montevideo  are  mere  shabby  barns,  thoroughly 
inadequate  for  both  the  passenger  and  goods  traffic ; but  the  Central 
Uruguay  is  about  to  spend  ,£130,000  sterling  in  building  a handsome 
station  in  the  Renaissance  style,  which  appears,  from  the  plans  and 
drawings,  to  be  finer  and  more  luxurious  than  the  majority  of  the 
Oriental  public  merits.  The  passenger  cars  of  the  Central  Uruguay 
are  still  mixed,  and  some  of  them  are  quaint  to  behold,  but  the  new 
ones  are  all  well  built  and  decorated  on  the  North -American  type; 
the  freight  cars  are  all  of  North- American  pattern,  and  many  of  North- 
American  manufacture.  The  Uruguayans  are  not  yet  smart  enough 
to  drive  a locomotive ; the  drivers  of  the  various  companies,  I noticed, 
are  all  foreigners,  and  belong  to  almost  every  nation  except  the  Eng- 
lish. The  managers  informed  me  that  they  cannot  employ  English- 
men on  account  of  their  incapacity  to  resist  the  seductive  power  of 
cane  rum,  or  cana,  as  it  is  called.  The  drivers  are  chiefly  Austrians 
and  Italians.  Several  captains  of  the  Platense  Flotilla  Company  gave 
me  the  same  reason  for  not  employing  Englishmen  on  the  river  steam- 
ers, either  in  the  crew  or  in  the  stoke -room.  Indeed,  I may  say  gen- 
erally that  my  observations  in  South  America  tended  to  show  that 
unskilled  Anglo-Saxon  labor  is  held  in  very  low  esteem. 

Excursions  across  the  territory  of  Uruguay  reveal  nothing  of  very 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


415 


great  interest  to  the  tourist.  The  landscape  in  parts  is  pretty;  some 
finely- situated  estancias  are  to  be  seen  along  the  banks  of  the  Uru- 
guay; the  vicinity  of  the  Rio  Negro,  too,  is  especially  interesting  and 
characteristic  of  the  fertile  parts  of  the  territory,  which  present  a sim- 
ilar combination  of  water,  wood,  and  rolling  prairie.  But,  after  all,  one 
soon  wearies  of  looking  at  the  same  kind  of  view  hour  after  hour, 
league  after  league,  and  province  after  province.  The  fences  of  posts 
and  wire  are  varied  sometimes  by  fences  of  aloes  and  cactus ; the 
eucalyptus,  the  poplar,  and  other  trees  are  also  planted  to  form  fences 
as  in  Chili;  the  roads,  where  one  sees  long  teams  of  oxen  toiling  along 
with  huge  wagons,  are  as  terrible  as  those  of  the  Argentine;  the  prai- 
ries are  dotted  with  innumerable  herds  of  cattle  and  horses;  occasion- 
ally you  see  two  or  three  peasants  wearing  brown  ponchos  riding  and 
driving  animals  be- 
fore them;  at  long 
intervals  you  see 
one  or  two  ranchos , 
or  huts,  where  these 
peasants  live.  In 
the  Argentine  the 
ranchos  appeared 
miserable  enough, 
but  in  Uruguay  I 
saw  many  even 
more  primitive, 
mere  huts  of  black 
mud,  with  a roof  of 
maize  straw,  a floor 
of  beaten  earth,  a 
door-way,  but  not 
always  a window. 

The  cabins  of  the  Irish  peasantry  give  some  idea  of  the  Uruguayan 
rancho ; it  is  a comfortless,  unhealthy,  rheumatic  dwelling,  less  civilized 
than  that  of  the  Esquimaux,  and  more  carelessly  built  than  the  most 
ordinary  bird’s- nest.  As  for  the  towns,  after  Montevideo,  the  most 
important  is  Paysandu,  which  differs  in  no  respect  from  a dozen  Ar- 
gentine towns  similarly  situated.  Salto  is  absolutely  without  interest. 
Florida  boasts  a monument  in  commemoration  of  the  declaration  of 
the  independence  of  the  Republic,  proclaimed  in  that  town  on  August 


416  THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 

25,  1S25.  Santa  Lucia,  much  frequented  in  summer  by  people  from 
Montevideo,  is  surrounded  by  pretty  country,  and  has  a picturesque 
plaza,  and  a large  church  with  elaborate  stucco  columns  and  Corin- 
thian capitals  supporting  a tympanum.  As  a rule,  the  Uruguayan 
provincial  town  is  a vast  agglomeration  of  rectilinear  unpaved  streets 
and  stucco  houses,  having  no  particular  character,  but  presenting  a 
less  neglected  and  untidy  aspect  than  similar  towns  in  the  Argentine. 
The  whole  Banda  Oriental  and  its  inhabitants  strike  one  as  being 
more  refined,  more  amiable,  and  more  gentle  than  the  land  and  people 
of  the  sister  republic.  Nevertheless,  in  the  country  everything  is  very 
primitive,  and  one  is  astounded  at  the  rough  way  in  which  many  of 
the  rich  estancieros  live  on  their  estates  in  the  simplest  and  most  com- 
fortless houses.  These  men  own  leagues  and  leagues  of  land,  and 
they  live  like  the  patriarchs  of  old,  with  two  or  three  generations  of 
children  under  the  same  roof  and  eating  at  the  same  table  in  the  old- 
fashioned  creole  way.  Such  men,  as  may  well  be  imagined,  are  not 
progressive;  they  continue  their  pastoral  industry  in  an  indolent,  apa- 
thetic manner,  leaving  to  nature  almost  everything  except  the  opera- 
tion of  selling  and  receiving  the  money;  and,  above  all,  they  cannot 
be  persuaded  to  subdivide  their  lands  and  let  them  out  for  farming. 
Uruguay  is  being  kept  back  chiefly  by  the  conservativeness  of  the 
creole  landholders,  who  possess  immense  estates  that  are  inadequately 
developed.  The  law  of  inheritance  and  the  obligatory  subdivision 
of  property  among  the  heirs  will  modify  this  state  of  affairs  in  the 
course  of  time,  and  these  vast  holdings  will  be  gradually  broken  up 
and  developed  in  detail.  The  process,  however,  will  necessarily  be 
slow,  and  meanwhile,  as  the  State  owns  no  lands,  the  increase  of  im- 
migration can  only  be  slowr  in  proportion. 

Owing  to  the  want  of  land  belonging  to  the  State,  official  immigra- 
tion would  seem  to  be  superfluous  in  the  Republic  of  Uruguay;  nev- 
ertheless, a new  law,  promulgated  in  June,  1890,  devoted  forty-five  ar- 
ticles to  the  details  of  this  question.  Among  the  chief  articles  of 
the  law  are  the  following:  The  consular  agents  of  the  Republic  shall 
give  information  in  their  various  posts  both  to  intending  emigrants 
and  to  the  home  government,  and  make  out  annual  reports  on  all 
matters  connected  with  the  subject  of  emigration  and  immigration. 
The  General  Assembly  of  the  Republic  shall  fix  annually  a sum  for 
paying  third-class  passages  for  immigrants  from  Europe,  which  pas- 
sages shall  be  repaid  by  the  immigrant  by  means  of  quarterly  instal- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


417 


ments,  with  an  annual  interest  of  6 per  cent.,  within  two  years  and  a 
half  after  his  arrival.  Colonization  enterprises  and  private  individuals 
may  obtain  from  the  Direction  de  Inmigration  y Agricultura  the  ad- 
vance of  passage 
money  for  per- 
sons whom  they 
may  designate, 
against  a vale 

O 

drawn  up  in  the 
conditions  of  re- 
payment above 
mentioned.  The 
law  prohibits  the 
importation  _of 
beggars,  cripples, 
aged  men,  except 
when  they  form 
part  of  a family, 

Asiatics,  Afri- 
cans, gypsies, 

Hungarians,  and 
Bohemians.  With 
these  exceptions 
all  kinds  of  agri- 
cultural and  day 
laborers  and  arti- 
sans are  demand- 
ed. The  consu- 
lar agents  of  the 


Republic  are  or- 

1 CANARIOTE  IMMIGRANTS  IN  THE  STREET. 

dered  to  make 
continuous  prop- 
aganda in  favor  of  immigration,  “ rectifying  erroneous  versions  that 
are  contrary  to  the  credit  of  Uruguay  as  a country  for  immigration, 
making  known  its  geographical,  economical,  and  social  conditions,  the 
general  advantages  it  offers  to  the  immigrant,  and  the  special  favors 
that  it  assures  for  his  passage,  board,  and  lodging  during  the  first  eight 
days  after  his  arrival,  and  for  securing  him  an  immediate  and  lucrative 
engagement  in  the  country.” 

27 


4i8 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


In  the  main  this  new  law  is  the  reproduction  of  the  Argentine  law 
concerning  assisted  immigration.  Its  promises,  however,  are  more 
fallacious  than  those  of  the  Argentine  law,  inasmuch  as  the  Aro-en- 
tine  Government  possesses  still  vast  expanses  of  unoccupied  terri- 
tory and  various  official  colonies  in  the  Chaco,  where  it  can  send  the 
new-comers  to  engage  in  a hard  struggle  against  mosquitoes  and 
fever.  In  the  Republic  of  Uruguay,  on  the  other  hand,  unless  the 
Government  should  determine  to  expropriate  certain  lands  for  the 
purposes  of  colonization — a measure  which  is  scarcely  probable — em- 
ployment can  be  given  to  immigrants  only  in  a limited  degree,  ac- 
cording to  the  demands  of  the  labor  market  and  of  private  colo- 
nization enterprises.  As  for  the  special  favors  of  board  and  lodging 
during  the  first  eight  days  after  arrival,  they  consist  in  the  hospitality 
of  the  Hotel  de  Inmigracion,  of  Montevideo — an  extensive  two-story 
building,  having  one  fa9ade  on  the  Calle  25  de  Agosto,  and  another 
towards  the  bay,  where  there  is  a special  mole  and  quay  for  landing 
the  immigrants  and  their  baggage.  All  these  measures  for  the  pro- 
tection of  the  immigrants  and  for  facilitating  their  arrival  are  excel- 
lent; but  the  question  is  what  to  do  with  them  when  they  have  ar- 
rived; for  although  they  have  hitherto  presented  themselves  only  in 
comparatively  small  numbers,  it  appears  that  it  has  not  been  found 
easy  to  find  them  work  and  places.  A proof  of  this  is  the  fact  that 
the  foreign  consulates  in  Montevideo  are  overwhelmed  with  applica- 
tions from  deceived  immigrants  who  wish  to  return  to  their  country, 
while  the  newspapers  every  week  contain  heartrending  accounts  of 
the  misery  and  ill-treatment  of  immigrants  who  have  been  abandoned 
in  the  provinces  of  the  interior,  or  simply  turned  out  of  the  Hotel  de 
Inmigracion  to  starve  or  beg  in  the  streets  of  the  capital.  In  spite  of 
the  promises  and  information  of  the  consular  agents  of  Uruguay,  the 
Republic’s  offers  of  assisted  passages  and  lucrative  engagements  are 
full  of  snares  and  disappointments,  and  for  the  reasons  above  briefly 
indicated  the  healthy  and  rational  current  of  immigration  must  be 
slow  and  gradual.  If  the  Orientals  were  otherwise  than  they  are, 
things  might  be  different,  and  the  transformation  of  the  Republic 
rapid.  In  other  hands,  Uruguay,  with  its  splendid  soil,  fine  climate, 
and  facilities  of  navigation,  might  become  one  of  the  greatest  food- 
producing  countries  of  the  world.  But  in  Spanish-American  repub- 
lics it  is  vain  to  look  for  active  patriotism,  co-operative  energy,  and 
public  spirit.  Whatever  progress  is  accomplished  in  any  and  all  of 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


419 


them  has  been  realized  mainly  by  foreigners,  not  with  the  help  of,  but 
in  spite  of  the  administration,  and  in  spite  of  the  conservative  apathy 
of  the  creole  population.  At  present  we  have  seen  the  density  of 
the  population  of  the  whole  territory  of  Uruguay  is  3.46  inhabitants 
to  the  square  kilometre,  and  the  total  is  less  than  700,000.  If  Uru- 


THE  OLD  FORTRESS. 


guay  were  as  thickly  populated 
as  France,  it  would  contain  a 
population  of  13.000,000,  and  if 
the  inhabitants  were  packed  as 
closely  as  they  are  in  the  east 
of  Belgium,  its  population  would 
attain  35,000,000.  These  figures  show  of  what  development  the  coun- 
try is  susceptible. 

No  other  city  in  South  America  has  greater  advantages  in  geo- 
graphical position  than  Montevideo,  the  capital  of  the  Republic,  and  if 
it  possessed  only  a good  port,  its  prosperity  would  be  multiplied  ten- 
fold. In  the  bay,  it  appears,  the  depth  of  water  has  diminished  five 
feet  within  the  past  seventy  years,  and  now  does  not  exceed  fifteen 
feet  at  the  deepest,  while  the  roadstead  outside  the  Cerro  is  so  exposed 
as  to  be  one  of  the  most  dangerous  in  the  world.  The  Rio  de  la 

O 

Plata  is  by  no  means  the  ideal  river  that  many  believe  it  to  be ; in- 
deed, after  every  strong  pampero  you  may  count  wrecks  and  ships 
aground  between  the  estuary  and  the  island  of  Martin  Garcia  literally 
by  the  score.  For  want  of  a port  or  protection  of  any  kind  all  busi- 


420 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


ness  is  interrupted  while  the  pampero  is  blowing,  communication  be- 
tween the  shore  and  ships  anchored  in  the  roads  being  impossible. 
The  necessity  of  loading  and  unloading  by  means  of  lighters  and  tugs 
renders  the  operation  exceedingly  expensive,  and  in  many  cases  the 
costs  of  landing  goods  at  Montevideo  are  equivalent  to  the  freight  of 
the  goods  from  Havre,  Hamburg,  or  Liverpool.  Ever  since  1862 
there  have  been  various  schemes  proposed  for  making  a port,*  but  all 
have  fallen  through.  During  my  visit  in  1890  no  less 
than  twenty -one  costly  projects  were  submitted  to  the 

Department  of 
Public  Works, 
but  the  well-in- 
formed consid- 
ered that  none 
of  these  projects 
were  likely  to  be 
accepted.  To 
all  of  them  two 
grave  objections 
were  to  be  made: 
first  of  all  the 
enormous  cost;  and,  second- 
ly, the  fact  that  all  the  pro- 
jects were  based  on  the  gain- 
ing of  land  as  a principal 


THE  STOCK  EXCHANGE,  MONTEVIDEO.  * At  the  foot  of  the  Cerro  is 

the  Cibils  dry-dock,  made  in  1874- 
78.  It  is  built  in  granite  rock,  is 
450  feet  long,  80  feet  wide,  and  can  admit  a vessel  drawing  24  feet  of  water.  In  the  cen- 
tre is  a gate,  so  that  two  docks  can  be  formed,  if  necessary.  Outside  the  dock  a granite 
breakwater,  380  feet  long  by  33  feet  wide,  built  of  ten-ton  blocks,  protects  the  dock  from  the 
south-east  wind.  The  hydraulic  machinery  is  excellent,  and  the  dock  is  the  finest  in  South 
America.  There  are  two  smaller  dry-docks  at  Montevideo,  but  they  call  for  no  special  notice. 

The  statistics  of  the  port  of  Montevidio  for  1888  show  the  entrance  of  765  steamers  and 
592  sailing  ships  from  foreign  ports,  and  2090  sailers  and  1450  steamers  engaged  in  the  coast- 
ing traffic.  Taking  the  total  of  ships  entered  and  cleared,  it  appears  that  the  flags  repre- 
sented by  the  steamers  were  in  order  of  number:  1,  English;  2,  French;  3,  German;  4f 

Italian;  5,  Brazilian;  6,  Scandinavian;  7,  Argentine;  8,  Uruguayan;  9,  Dutch;  and  by  the 
sailing  ships,  1,  Scandinavian;  2,  English;  3,  Italian;  4,  Spanish;  5,  German;  6,  Austro- 
Hungarian;  7,  Danish;  8,  North-American ; 9,  Dutch;  10,  Brazilian ; 11,  Russian;  12,  Port- 
uguese; 13,  Argentine;  14,  French  and  Uruguayan.  It  will  be  remarked  that  the  flag  of 
the  United  States  does  not  figure  at  all  among  the  steamers. 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


421 


object,  of  course  with  a view  to  lucrative  speculations,  after  the  ex- 
ample of  the  harbor  and  dock  works  of  Buenos  Ayres. 

Landing  at  Montevideo  is  often  a terrible  and  even  dangerous 
operation.  The  ocean  steamers  anchor  two  miles  or  more  from  the 
shore,  and  after  the  formalities  of  the  medical  inspection  have  been 
accomplished  and  the  quarantine  flag  hauled  down,  small  steamers 
are  moored  alongside,  the  baggage  is  lowered,  and  then  the  passen- 
gers have  to  make  perilous  leaps  from  the  foot  of  the  gangway  to  the 
decks  of  the  tugs.  Finally,  when  all  is  ready,  the  tugs  start,  panting 
and  puffing,  threading  their  way  through  ships  of  all  sizes  and  de- 
scriptions anchored  in  the  roads.  The  panorama  of  the  city  is  grand. 
To  the  left,  forming  the  western  point  of  the  bay,  is  the  Cerro,  that 
gives  its  name,  Montevideo,  to  the  town;  on  the  summit,  137  metres 
above  the  level  of  the  sea,  is  a fortress  built  by  the  Governor,  Elio, 
after  the  capitulation  of  the  English  in  1808,  and  now  used  as  a light- 
house and  observatory;  at  the  foot  of  the  Cerro  the  broad  bay  sweeps 
round,  crowded  with  small  craft,  and  joins  the  turtle-back  promontory 
on  which  the  old  town  is  built.  Seen  from  the  river  the  points  that 
strike  the  eye  are  the  hill  on  the  left,  and  on  the  right  the  vast  cus- 
tum-house  depots,  the  fine  new  hotel,  and  the  towers  of  the  cathedral 
and  the  churches  rising  above  the  white  and  Oriental  - looking  sil- 
houette of  the  town,  that  slopes  up  from  the  water  and  attains  in  parts 
a height  of  100  metres  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  landing-stage 
is  at  the  end  of  the  custom-house,  a wooden  wharf  or  jetty  provided 
with  a narrow  wooden  staircase,  at  the  head  of  which  the  changadorcs, 
or  porters,  wait  in  line  to  carry  baggage.  The  want  of  good  police 
regulations  and  fixed  tariffs  makes  itself  felt  here  as  in  all  the  ports 
of  South  America.  The  new-comers,  and  the  natives  too,  have  to 
submit  to  much  extortion,  although  the  porters  of  Montevideo  and 
the  whole  service  of  the  landing-stage  are  better  managed  than  at 
Buenos  Ayres.  The  hotels  of  Montevideo  are  all  poor,  the  food  they 
provide  is  inferior,  and  often  execrably  prepared ; and  as  there  are  no 
other  restaurants  except  those  of  the  hotels,  there  is  no  alternative  but 
to  suffer. 

I spent  some  time  in  Montevideo  in  the  winter  and  in  the  sum- 
mer, and  saw  both  the  agreeable  and  disagreeable  aspects  of  life.  I 
saw  the  people  in  the  summer  evenings  sitting  on  their  balconies 
sucking  mate  and  thrumming  guitars ; I saw  the  city  in  the  winter 
when  the  rain  fell  for  days  together  in  perpendicular  thick  threads 


422 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


that  pattered  on  the  paved  streets,  and  made  life  seem  dismal  and 
hopeless  until  the  sky  cleared,  the  sun  shone,  and  Montevideo  once 
more  appeared  pleasant  and  attractive.  Of  the  climate,  however,  no 
evil  can  be  spoken.  In  the  summer  the  heat  is  always  tempered  by 
the  breezes  from  the  water,  with  an  average  of  about  20"  centigrade; 
in  winter  the  thermometer  never  descends  to  zero,  and  the  houses 
have  no  heating  apparatus  or  chimneys,  which  would  imply  that  the 
need  of  them  is  not  felt.  Nevertheless,  it  must  be  confessed  that 
when  it  rains,  and  the  whole  air  is  saturated  with  moisture,  the  cold 
seems  intense  enough  to  justify  fires;  but  this  view  is  not  taken  by 
the  majority  of  the  inhabitants,  who  content  themselves  with  the  pro- 
tection afforded  by  voluminous  Spanish  cloaks,  and  wait  patiently  un- 
til the  sun  shines.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  stated  that  the  climate 
both  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  of  Montevideo  is  changing  and  becoming 
colder,  and  in  some  of  the  modern  houses  built  for  people  who  have 
travelled  and  acquired  notions  of  European  comfort,  fireplaces  have 
been  made.  Owing  to  its  situation  on  a granite  promontory  almost 
surrounded  by  water,  the  Uruguayan  capital  is  well  ventilated,  admir- 
ably drained,  constantly  washed  clean  by  the  rain  that  falls  at  every 
season  — seventy  or  eighty  days  out  of  the  365  — and  thoroughly 
healthy. 

Montevideo  is  a city  of  stucco  and  bright  colors ; of  long,  broad 
streets  that  run  up  hill  and  down  hill  in  straight  lines,  with  clusters 
of  telegraph  and  telephone  wires  overhead,  and  implacable  tram-cars, 
whose  drivers  delight  in  plaintive  pipings  on  cow-horns,  challenging 
and  answering  each  other  with  piercing  nasal  trills — a city  of  noise 
and  clattering  hoofs,  of  fine  shops  and  well-built  houses;  a city  of 
manifest  luxury  and  wealth.  Although  laid  out  on  the  usual  Spanish- 
American  chess-board  plan,  Montevideo  does  not  impress  one  with  the 
monotony  and  sameness  that  characterize  Buenos  Ayres.  The  un- 
dulation of  the  ground  causes  great  variety  in  the  perspective  of  the 
streets,  and  glimpses  of  the  glistening  waters  of  the  river  or  of  the  bay 
are  constantly  visible  from  the  higher  points.  The  buildings  are  all 
low  and  flat-roofed,  and  even  on  the  principal  plazas  there  are  houses 
only  one  story  high.  The  banks  and  business  blocks  have  one  or 
two  and  rarely  three  stories,  but  some  buildings  I saw  in  construction 
are  loftier.  The  example  of  tall  modern  edifices  has  been  given  by 
the  splendid  new  Hotel  Victoria,  overlooking  the  bay  and  the  road- 
stead, the  only  hotel  in  South  America  adequately  planned  and  ar- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


423 


ranged  from  the  point  of  view  of  construction.  At  the  time  of  my 
visit  this  hotel  was  not  yet  finished  inside,  but  as  its  silhouette  forms 
the  most  conspicuous  object  in  the  panorama  of  the  city  seen  from 
the  water,  it  cannot  be  passed  unnoticed.  A peculiarity  of  the  houses 
of  one  or  two 
flats  is  that  the 
walls  are  often 
carried  to  a 
height  of  a metre 
above  the  roof, 
and  marble  or 
simile-stone  bal- 
conies builtoutat 
the  points  where 
the  windows  will 

shall  permit  the  owner  to  carry  the 
building  one  story  higher.  On  the 
grand  Plaza  Independencia  there  are 
several  buildings  left  in  this  unfinished 
state.  The  style  of  architecture  within 
the  city  is  nameless ; it  reminds  one  oft- 
en of  the  structures  figured  in  German 
architectural  toys.  The  plan  of  the  pri- 
vate houses  is  the  Andalusian  vestibule, 
with  a front  door  and  a second  gate  of  open  wrought-iron  work,  show- 
ing the  first  patio , or  court-yard,  a second  and  third  patio  according 
to  requirements,  a fa$ade  on  the  street,  with  iron  gratings  over  the 
windows,  and  marble  facings  and  stucco  ornaments  on  the  walls. 
The  building  materials  used  are  brick,  iron,  timber,  stucco,  tiles,  and 
marble.  The  courts  are  generally  paved  with  marble,  and,  together 
with  the  passages,  have  a dado  of  blue  and  white  Talavera  tiles  or 
azulejos.  Just  as  at  Buenos  Ayres,  the  richer  the  house  the  more  fan- 
ciful the  ornamentation  of  stucco,  the  more  tender  the  tints  of  bistre, 
salmon,  lilac,  and  rose  on  the  walls,  the  more  elaborate  the  iron-work, 
and  the  fresher  the  green  paint  on  the  shutters.  The  visitor  is  ex- 
pected to  admire  a new  quarter  of  the  town  towards  the  north-east, 
called  the  Barrio  Reus,  and  another  quarter  bearing  the  same  name 
near  the  Playa  Ramirez.  This  is  a vast  building  speculation  on  the 
model  of  those  which  have  covered  the  new  quarters  of  Paris  with 


424 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


streets  and  blocks  of  houses.  The  peculiarity  of  the  Barrio  Reus  at 
Montevideo  is  that  it  is  outrageously  and  aggressively  European  in 
aspect  and  thoroughly  unpleasing;  it  suggests  a transplantation  of  a 
part  of  Brussels  or  of  Berlin  to  the  banks  of  La  Plata.  One  cannot 
imagine  people  living  with  joy  in  such  houses  as  these  in  the  climate 
of  Montevideo,  in  spite  of  electric  light,  telephones,  bath-rooms,  and 
all  modern  improvements.  Still,  the  greatness  of  the  effort  and  the 
rapidity  of  the  creation  of  these  new  quarters  excite  admiration,  and 
testify  to  a certain  exuberant  and  exaggerated  energy. 

The  chief  squares  of  Montevideo  are  the  Plaza  Constitucion,  more 
commonly  called  Plaza  de  la  Matriz,  Plaza  de  la  Independencia,  and 
Plaza  Cagancha.  The  first  has  on  one  side  the  cathedral,  or  Iglesia 
de  la  Matriz;  on  another  the  handsome  white  marble  fa<^ade  of  the 
Uruguay  Club,  one  of  the  most  luxurious  and  splendid  clubs  in  the 
Southern  hemisphere ; on  the  third  side  the  Cabildo,  which  serves  as 
a parliament  house,  and  bears  the  inscription  “ Representacion  Na- 
cional;”  and  on  the  fourth  side  are  buildings  of  no  architectural  inter- 
est, in  one  of  which  is  a hospitable  English  club.  In  the  centre  of 
this  plaza  is  an  elegant  and  elaborate  white  marble  fountain.  The 
plaza  is  crossed  by  diagonal  paths,  lined  with  trees  of  the  acacia  fam- 
ily, that  are  covered  with  bloom  in  season.  On  summer  evenings  the 
Plaza  de  la  Matriz  is  the  great  resort  of  the  inhabitants.  The  heavy 
traffic  of  carts  has  ceased,  the  tram-cars  pass  less  frequently  and  less 
noisily,  the  carriages  become  more  elegant,  and  many  teams  of  mag- 
nificent European  horses  are  to  be  seen.  A military  band  plays  in 
the  kiosque  near  the  fountain,  and  the  greater  part  of  the  plaza  is 
dotted  with  little  tables,  where  syrups,  ices,  and  refreshing  drinks  are 
served.  The  ladies  turn  out  cn  masse , clad  in  the  most  elegant  and 
tasteful  summer  costumes  that  the  Parisian  exporters  can  furnish  ; 
young  women,  matrons,  girls,  and  children  pass  to  and  fro  with  flash- 
ing eyes  and  dazzling  teeth,  looking  handsome,  healthy,  and  graceful ; 
while  the  sidewalks  are  lined  with  a double  row  of  young  men,  who 
smoke  cigarettes,  and  watch  the  defile  of  beauty  and  fashion  in  the 
accepted  Spanish-American  custom.  Here  and  there  in  the  elegant 
crowd  you  note  dashing  mulattoes  and  comical  negresses  dressed  in 
immaculate  white ; and  as  you  pass  you  hear  groups  speaking  French, 
Italian,  and  English,  as  well  as  the  native  Spanish,  for  Montevideo 
is  a cosmopolitan  town.  The  Plaza  de  la  Constitucion  has  ex- 
isted since  the  town  was  planned,  and  owes  its  present  name  to  the 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


425 


fact  that  the  Constitution  of  the  Republic  was  proclaimed  there  in 
1830. 

The  Plaza  Independencia  is  to  be  eventually  surrounded  by  lofty 
colonnades  in  the  Doric  style,  sections  of  which  are  already  built. 
The  aspect  of  this  immense  parallelogram  is  very  imposing,  although 
at  present  it  has  no  remarkable  buildings  except  the  modest  palace  of 
the  Government,  where  the  ministries  are  also  located  very  inad- 
equately. In  front  of  this  palace  stands  a sentry,  and  a sentry-box 
covered  with  blue  and  white  stripes,  and  adorned  in  front  with  mock 
curtains  of  red  paint  tied  back  with  gold  cord,  also  imitated  by  means 
of  paint.  The  corps  de  garde  under  the  arcade,  and  the  long  bench 
on  which  the  soldiers  of  the 
President’s  guard,  most  of 
them  negroes  or  men  of 

O 

color,  sit  and  smoke  cigar- 
ettes all  day,  form  one  of 
the  picturesque  and  charac- 
teristic “ bits  ” in  Montevid- 
eo. Across  the  Plaza  Inde- 
pendencia, which  measures 
221  metres  long  by  232 
broad,  is  a paved  path  eight 
metres  wide,  lined  with 
benches,  also  much  fre- 
quented as  an  evening 
promenade,  particularly  by 
the  more  portly  matrons, 
who  are  more  at  their  ease 
there  than  on  the  narrow 
sidewalks  of  the  Calle  Sa- 
randi,  or  on  the  crowded 
Plaza  Matriz.  From  the 
Plaza  Independencia  to  the 
Plaza  Cagancha  runs  the 
Calle  18  de  Julio,  a splen- 

A GUARD  STATION. 

did  boulevard  twenty-six  me- 
tres wide,  planted  with  trees 

and  lined  with  fine  shops,  certainly  the  finest  modern  street  in  South 
America,  and  in  the  evening  one  of  the  most  animated  in  Montevideo. 


426 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


In  the  middle  of  the  Plaza  Ca- 
eancha  is  a marble  column 
and  pedestal  surmounted  by  a 
bronze  statue  of  Liberty  hold- 
ing a flag.  The  statue  is  very 
poor,  and  the  pose  so  un- 
fortunate  that  the  figure 
suggests  that  of  a lady 
in  distress  making  signs 
with  her  umbrella  to  stop 
the  tram-car. 

Among  the  principal  pub- 
lic buildings,  besides  those  al- 
ready mentioned,  is  the  Municipal 
Palace,  a truly  wonderful  Gothic 
structure  of  stucco  and  white  paint. 
Some  of  the  banks,  too,  are  Gothic, 
but  others  affect  the  Renaissance 
style.  The  Loteria  de  la  Caridad 
has  a handsome  building  for  trans- 
acting its  vast  business.  The  Hos- 
pital de  Caridad,  which  is  supported 
by  this  lottery,  is  an  immense  build- 
ing, but  without  architectural  inter- 


CALLE l8  DE  JULIO,  PLAZA  MATRIZ, 
CLUB  URUGUAY. 


est.  The  Post-office,  built  specially 

for  the  purpose,  is  more  or  less  convenient.  One  curious  feature  of 
this  establishment  is  an  opening  on  one  side  of  the  court-yard  by  the 
side  of  the  letter-boxes,  bearing  the  inscription  “ Inutilizacion.”  Be- 
fore throwing  your  letter  into  the  box  you  are  required  to  present  it 
to  the  employe  who  stands  behind  this  opening  or  window  and  ob- 
literates the  stamps.  What  happens  in  case  a recalcitrant  person  re- 
fuses to  take  the  trouble  of  waiting  his  turn  at  this  window  when 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


427 


there  is  a crowd,  and  simply  posts  his  letter  with  the  stamps  unoblit- 
erated, is  a point  which  I failed  to  elucidate.  The  Spanish-Americans 
appear  to  be  patient  and  docile,  like  the  European  Latins,  and  submit 
to  many  inconveniences  without  a murmur. 

The  Cementerio  Central  is  considered  one  of  the  sights  of  the 


capital.  It  has  a monu- 
mental entrance  and  an 
elaborate  chapel,  and  is 
reputed  to  be  the  most 
luxuriously  and  the  best 
arranged  cemetery  in 
South  America.  It  is 
situated  on  the  sea- 
shore, and  divided  into 
three  sections,  sur- 
rounded by  high  walls, 
in  which  are  arranged 
on  the  inside  innumera- 
ble niches,  each  with  its 

marble  tablet  recording  the  names  of  those  whose  remains  are  deposited 
inside.  The  coffins  are  wound  up  to  the  mouth  of  these  mural  cellules 
by  means  of  a portable  lift  and  ladder  combined,  and  the  whole  surface 
of  the  walls  is  hung  with  wreaths  of  fresh  flowers  or  of  beads,  which 

stand  out  in  strong  relief  against  the  white 


GOVERNMENT  HOUSE.  ON  PLAZA  INDEPEN- 
DENCIA. 


PALACIO  MUNICIPAL. 


from  the  town  about 


marble  facings.  Each  section  of  the  ceme- 
tery is  carefully  laid  out,  fenced  in  with  iron 
railings,  and  full  of  tombs  and  monuments 
of  great  price  and  pretensions,  due  to  the 
chisels  of  the  sculptors  of  Rome  and  Milan. 
The  vegetation  in  the  cemetery  is  most 
varied,  and,  besides  the  funereal  cypress, 
there  are  flowering  shrubs  of  many  kinds, 
and  on  almost  every  grave  wreaths  of  fresh 
flowers,  constantly  renewed,  that  fill  the  air 
with  their  perfume.  The  pious  luxury  dis- 
played in  this  Campo  Santo  is  remarkable. 

Paso  del  Molino  is  the  fashionable  res- 
idential suburb  of  Montevideo,  distant 
three  - quarters  of  an  hour  by  tram  - way 


428 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


along  finely -paved  and  broad  avenues  that  skirt  the  bay.  The 
whole  suburb  is  occupied  with  villas  surrounded  by  gardens  richly 
stocked  with  trees  and  flowers.  The  villas,  or  qiiintas,  as  they  are 
called,  are  in  many  cases  most  fantastic  and  curious,  and  the  styles  of 
architecture  vary  from  florid  Gothic  to  Moorish  and  even  Chinese. 
The  results  obtained  are  costly  and  often  comic.  One  is  impressed  by 
the  effort  made  and  by  the  wealth  of  the  owners  of  these  quintas , but 

at  the  same  time  one  is 
eager  to  escape  out  of 
sight  of  these  monu- 


ments of  architectural 
and  parvenu  folly.  One’s 
soul  has  no  joy  in  most 
of  them. 

Not  far  by  tram-way 
from  the  Paso  del  Moli- 
on,  but  unfortunately  at 
a distance  of  more  than 
a league  from  the  city, 
is  a public  garden  and 
promenade  belonging  to 
the  municipality,  called 
“ El  Prado.”  This  beau- 
tiful park  is  traversed 
by  a stream  lined  with 
willows  and  other  trees; 
the  entrance  avenue  is 
planted  with  four  rows 
of  tall  eucalyptus,  and 
the  grounds  are  adorn- 
ed  with  rustic  foun- 
tains, rockeries,  and  stat- 
ues surrounded  by  most 
beautiful  and  varied 
The  only  disadvantage  of  the  Prado  is  that  it  is  too  far 
away;  in  order  to  visit  it  one  must  have  several  hours  to  lose;  and 
except  on  special  occasions  its  beautiful  walks  are  deserted. 

During  the  summer  months  Montevideo  attracts  many  visitors, 
even  from  Buenos  Ayres,  for  the  bathing  season,  and  two  beaches  of 


THE  CEMETERY. 


vegetation 

O 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


429 

fine  sand  have  been  provided  with  the  necessary  apparatus  at  Ramirez 
and  Pocitos,  both  within  easy  distance  of  the  town,  and  served  by 
tram-ways.  The  sea  is  discolored  by  the  brown  waters  of  the  Rio 
de  la  Plata  at  these 
points,  which  are  not 
so  “charming”  as 
one  might  imagine 

o o 

from  the  descrip- 
tions of  the  natives, 
but  very  acceptable 
for  want  of  some- 
thing better.  The 
sight  of  the  little 
cabins  and  of  the 
bathers  is  amusing 
enough  of  a sum- 
mer evening,  and  in 
both  establishments 
there  are  cafes  and 
restaurants,  which 
help  to  make  a visit 
agreeable.  In  the 
city  itself,  besides 
the  new  hotel,  there 
is  a wonderful  bath- 
ing establishment  under  cover,  with  swimming  baths  for  ladies  and 
gentlemen,  each  50  by  30  metres,  and  accommodation  and  accessories 
of  a most  luxurious  nature. 

The  main  streets  of  Montevideo — 25  de  Mayo,  Sarandi,  Rincon — 
are  overarched  at  intervals  with  gas-jets  and  globes  in  the  same  way 
as  the  principal  streets  of  Buenos  Ayres,  not  merely  for  illumination 
on  high  days  and  holidays,  but  also  for  ordinary  every-day  use.  Part 
of  the  town  and  many  shops  are  lighted  by  electricity  furnished  by  two 
vast  establishments.  In  the  Southern  hemisphere  the  streets  are 
always  most  animated  after  sunset,  when  the  shop-keepers  take  down 
their  shades  and  blinds,  and  endeavor  to  attract  customers  by  the  most 
brilliant  and  effective  display  of  goods.  The  shops  of  Montevideo 
astound  the  traveller  by  the  quantity  and  costliness  of  the  articles  of 
luxury  that  they  contain.  In  the  Calles  Camaras,  Sarandi,  25  de 


430 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


Mayo,  and  18  de  Julio  the  majority  of  the  shops  are  for  the  sale  of 
precious  stones,  jewelry,  silverware,  furniture,  fancy  articles,  objets 
d'art,  looking-glasses,  objects  appertaining  to  the  costume  and  adorn- 
ment of  women.  There  are  also  several  large  music-stores  and  book- 
stores. The  jewellers’  windows  are  ablaze  with  diamonds,  sapphires, 
emeralds,  and  rubies  mounted  in  very  expensive  pieces.  The  silver- 
smiths have  massive  toilet  sets  chased  and  repousse  in  magnificent 
style.  The  dealers  in  bibelots  and  objects  of  art  display  onyx  pie- 
douches  and  vases  with  ormolu  mounts,  useless  things  of  great  price 
for  wedding  presents  set  in  morocco-leather  cases  lined  with  azure  silk, 
and  mounted  with  silver  or  gold,  commonplace  bronzes  of  hackneyed 
models,  such  as  Houdon's  “ Kiss”  and  John  of  Bologna’s  “Mercury,” 
Oriental  carpets,  French  fancy  furniture,  Parisian,  knick-knacks,  and  all 
the  expensive  trumpery  of  Vienna,  Batignolles,  and  Yokohama.  There 
are  pictures,  too,  in  some  of  the  shops,  oil-paintings  and  water-colors, 
and  fac-simile  reproductions  from  Paris  and  Milan;  but  the  less  said 
about  the  artistic  taste  of  the  Orientals,  the  better.  In  the  choice  of 
jewelry  and  wearing  apparel  they  acquit  themselves  excellently  well; 
they  make  a prodigious  impression  upon  the  foreigner,  and  they  spend 
large  sums  of  money7,  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  they  are  rich 
and  prosperous,  and  that  their  lot  is  not  to  be  disdained. 

The  book-stores  of  Montevideo  present  the  same  phenomena  as 
those  of  Buenos  Ayres.  The  windows  are  filled  with  the  latest  pro- 
ductions of  Gyp,  Maupassant,  Goncourt,  Tolstoi,  Maizeroy,  Delpit, 
Belot,  Theuriet,  Coppee,  and  the  inevitable  Georges  Ohnet,  all  fresh 
from  Paris ; the  shelves  inside  are  packed  with  Spanish  translations 
of  the  same  talented  authors,  together  with  endless  series  of  transla- 
tions of  Jules  Verne,  Xavier  de  Montepin,  and  Paul  de  Kock.  One 
must  so  outside  of  France  in  order  to  realize  the  immensity  of  the 
public  to  which  these  latter  three  writers  appeal,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  comprehend  the  absolute  indifference  of  humanity  in  general 
towards  those  qualities  which  constitute  the  joy  and  the  torture  of 
the  literary  artist.  In  the  book-stores  of  Montevideo  I noticed  a fair 
number  of  translations  of  European  scientific  and  historical  works, 
but  I hunted  in  vain  for  a copy  of  Calderon , Lopez  de  Vega , or  Fran- 
cisco de  Quevedo.  Even  copies  of  Don  Quijote  are  few  and  far  be- 
tween. This  neglect  of  the  great  Spanish  classics  and  of  the  lighter 
picaresqiie  writers  struck  me  as  being  worthy  of  remark.  The  news- 
papers of  Montevideo,  like  those  of  Buenos  Ayres,  depend  upon  the 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


431 


French  for  their  novels  and  literary  articles.  There  is  no  local  lit- 
erary activity  worth  speaking  about,  except  that  which  produces  po- 
litical leaders  and  financial  and  statistical  reports. 

Evenings  in  Montevideo  are  dull  in  the  winter  season,  even  when 
the  theatres  are  open ; for  the  town  is  not  yet  large  enough  to  sup- 
port a regular  company,  and  therefore  has  to  depend  on  travelling 
troupes.  There  are  four  houses — San  Felipe,  Cibils,  Solis,  and  Po- 
liteama.  The  latter  two  are  generally  devoted  to  Italian  opera,  and 
every  other  night  the  amateurs  have  an  opportunity  of  hearing  the 
hackneydd  repertory,  provided  they  are  willing  to  pay  $4.00  (gold) 


SEA-BATH  AT  POCITOS. 


for  a stall.  The  Teatro  Solis,  holding  $2000  people,  is  exteriorly 
a very  elegant  and  handsomely- proportioned  edifice,  and  very  com- 
modious inside,  though  poorly  decorated.  Like  all  South-American 
theatres,  it  has  a caznela  (gallery)  reserved  for  ladies,  and  occasion- 
ally the  house  is  filled  with  all  the  rank  and  fashion  of  the  town ; 
generally,  however,  there  are  many  vacant  seats,  and  apparently  no 
regular  theatre- going  public.  On  the  nights  when  the  opera  is 
closed  there  is  no  amusement  whatever,  not  even  a cafe  concert,  nor 
does  the  military  band  play  on  the  Plaza  Matriz  during  the  winter 


432 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


months.  There  is  nothing  to  do  but  to  promenade  up  and  down  the 
Calle  1 8 de  Julio  and  the  Calle  Sarandi,  stand  outside  the  Uruguay 
Club  to  watch  the  ladies  pass,  look  in  at  the  shop  windows,  and  go  to 
bed  at  ten  o'clock,  when  the  shutters  are  put  up,  and  the  silence  of 
the  streets  is  broken  only  by  the  late  tram-cars,  and  by  the  hoarse 


TEATRO  SOLIS. 


voices  of  the  ubiquitous  and  indefatigable  sellers  of  lottery  tickets, 
with  their  fallacious  and  insinuating  cries:  “ Cincuenfa  mil  pesos  para 
manana  ! Cincuenta  mil  la  suerte  ! Tenemos  el  gordo  ! Este  es  el  bucuo, 
caballero!  Unenterito!"  (Fifty  thousand  dollars  for  to-morrow!  Fifty 
thousand  the  prize!  We've  got  the  big  one!  This  is  the  right  num- 
ber, sir ! A nice,  complete  ticket !) 

The  lottery  is  one  of  the  first  and  last  things  that  strike  the  vis- 
itor in  Montevideo.  It  is  impossible  to  escape.  From  early  morning 
until  late  at  night,  every  day  in  the  year,  boys  of  six  and  old  men  of 
seventy  wander  about  the  streets  crying  tickets  in  all  tones  of  voice. 
There  are  seven  drawings  a month,  the  grand  prize  being  one  time 
$50,000,  at  another  $25,000,  and  at  another  $12,000.  A complete  tick- 
et costs  $10.00  (gold),  and  consists  of  five  quint  os , or  fifths,  which 
are  sold  separately  at  $2.00;  and  for  each  drawing  12,000  complete 
tickets  are  issued,  or,  in  other  words,  60,000  fifths,  and  there  are 
1200  prizes.  The  sum  produced  by  the  sale  of  all  the  tickets  rep- 


THE  REPUBLIC  OF  URUGUAY. 


433 


resents  $120,000,  the  amount  devoted  to  prizes  is  $90,000,  and  the 
amount  taken  by  the  Hospital  de  Caridad  is  $30,000.  Of  course  all 
the  tickets  are  not  sold  every  time,  and  the  hospital  runs  a chance  of 
winning  prizes  with  the  unsold  numbers ; but  the  quantity  of  tickets 
placed  is  remarkable.  All  sorts  and  conditions  of  men  are  seen  buy- 
ing a qziinto;  the  sellers  are  found  in  every  village  in  the  Republic, 
and  the  neighboring  republics  of  the  Argentine  and  Brazil  also  take 
a considerable  number  of  tickets.  Thanks  to  the  resources  of  the  lot- 
tery, the  Hospital  de  Caridad  is  one  of  the  richest  in  the  world. 

As  regards  society  in  Montevideo,  it  is  difficult  for  the  passing 
visitor  to  make  any  observations  of  much  use  or  interest.  The  His- 
pano -Americans,  for  that  matter,  have  retained  the  customs  of  the 
Spaniards  of  the  mother- peninsula : family  life  is  held  to  be  of  first 
importance,  and  strangers  are  with  difficulty  admitted  to  the  intimacy 
of  the  home.  The  Anglo-Saxon  dinner-party,  the  French  reception, 
the  European  soiree,  are  unknown.  The  family  lives  for  its  mem- 
bers, and  not  for  the  outside  circle  of  friends  and  acquaintances.  In 
Montevideo  there  is  no  other  social  animation  than  such  as  one  finds 
in  Buenos  Ayres,  Santiago,  or  Lima — a rare  fete  given  by  some  mill- 
ionaire, a grand  ball  offered  to  the  cream  of  the  creole  families  by 
the  aristocratic  club ; and,  besides  that,  the  evening  promenade,  the 
opera,  and  the  races  at  Maronas,  which  are  frequented  by  a fashion- 
able and  well-behaved  public,  far  different  from  that  which  horrified 
me  at  the  Argentine  race-meetings.  Montevideo,  however,  does  not 
possess  a drive  or  park  like  the  Palermo  of  Buenos  Ayres,  nor  is  any 
particular  street  or  quarter  of  the  city  especially  a la  mode.  Further- 
more, suburban  villas  are  very  generally  preferred  to  town  houses  by 
the  rich,  so  that  collective  manifestations  of  elegance  and  fashion  are 
not  easily  made  except  in  the  limited  conditions  above  specified. 


EPILOGUE. 


HE  various  chapters  which  compose  the  present  volume  were 


_L  written — each  one  on  the  spot  and  d'apres  nature — in  the  year 
1890.  Since  then  grave  events  have  happened  in  Chili  and  in  the 
Argentine  Republic;  the  Republic  of  Uruguay  has  suffered  indirectly 
from  the  misfortunes  of  her  mighty  neighbor,  and  also  from  her  own 
mistakes ; and  the  development  of  Paraguay  and  of  Peru  has  natural^ 
not  been  forwarded  by  the  disturbed  condition  of  the  politics,  trade, 
and  finances  of  the  more  advanced  republics  of  South  America.  It 
may,  therefore,  be  of  interest  to  summarize  these  regretable  incidents 
very  briefly  and  generally,  for  in  our  South- American  studies  we  have 
had  no  pretensions  to  write  the  history  of  the  countries  visited  and 
observed. 

Beginning  with  the  less-advanced  republics,  we  find  that  the  new 
President  of  Uruguay,  Senor  Herrera  y Obes,  whom  we  saw  elected 
in  March,  1890,  has  not  fulfilled  all  the  promises  that  he  made  to  his 
countrymen.  On  the  contrary,  in  the  legislative  elections  of  Novem- 
ber he  persevered  in  the  old-fashioned  errors  of  officialism  and  of  the 
confiscation  of  the  public  vote,  thus  reminding  the  Orientals  of  their 
former  twenty  years’  experience  of  dictatorship  and  military  govern- 
ment. Meanwhile  great  abuses  were  brought  to  light  concerning  the 
previous  administration  of  General  Maximo  Tajes,  who  was  accused 
of  having  squandered  uselessly  no  less  than  $12,000,000  of  the  public 
Treasury  within  three  years;  the  financial  administration  of  Senor 
Herrera  y Obes  at  one  time  reached  such  a degree  of  irregularity  that 
the  Government  employes  were  not  paid  for  several  months;  the 
Banco  Nacional  was  found  to  have  been  an  accomplice  in  all  kinds  of 
reprehensible  speculations,  and  in  July  could  no  longer  convert  its 
notes,  although  the  issue  was  relatively  small,  the  Orientals  having 
always  been  opposed  to  paper  money.  It  is  thanks  to  this  innate  dis- 
like of  paper  money  that  the  Orientals  have  been  saved  from  the  fever 


EPILOGUE. 


435 


of  speculation  which  caused  such  a terrible  crisis  in  the  Argentine. 
In  Uruguay,  speculation  in  land  and  stocks  has  been  limited  at  all 
times.  However,  what  with  bad  administration,  want  of  confidence, 
financial  disorder,  the  stoppage  of  business  (thanks  to  the  Argentine 
crisis),  and  the  increased  difficulties  of  pecuniary  arrangements  with 
Europe  (caused  by  the  disaster  of  Baring  Brothers),  the  Banda  Ori- 
ental has  passed  through  a severe  period  of  crisis  within  the  past 
twelve  months. 

In  Peru  the  new  President,  Colonel  Morales  Bermudez,  came  into 
office  on  August  io,  1890,  and  the  Republic  existed  more  or  less 
calmly  until  October,  when  the  ex-dictator,  Nicolas  Pierola,  was  an- 
nounced to  be  preparing  a revolutionary  movement  in  Tacna;  later 
on  Pierola  was  heard  of  in  Guayaquil,  in  which  direction  troops  were 
sent;  and  on  December  3,  1890,  a military  conspiracy  broke  out  in 
Lima,  in  complicity  with  Pierola.  After  an  hour’s  artillery  fighting 
and  some  slaughter  the  mutiny  was  repressed.  Doubtless,  until 
Pierola  is  suppressed,  Peru  will  from  time  to  time  be  disturbed  by 
these  beginnings  of  revolution. 

Owing  to  the  lamentable  want  of  public  morality  south  of  the 
equator,  and  to  the  cynicism  of  the  political  vultures  who  make  it 
their  business  to  prey  upon  their  fatherland,  it  is  always  a painful  task 
to  speak  about  the  administration  of  the  South-American  republics. 
In  the  case  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  so  richly  gifted  by  nature,  so 
energetic,  so  full  of  youth  and  promise,  our  regret  is  poignant  when 
we  think  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  simple-minded  workers  who 
have  been  the  victims  of  the  dishonest  politicians  that  are  responsible 
for  a commercial  and  economical  crisis,  to  remove  the  traces  of  which 
will  take  fully  ten  years  of  national  effort.  Let  us  hope  that  recent 
events  will  be  a lesson  to  the  Argentines,  and  that  in  self-defence  at 
least  they  will  learn  to  become  actively  and  continuously  citizens,  jeal- 
ous of  their  rights,  and  mindful  of  their  human  dignity.  And  yet  we 
are  hardly  justified  in  anticipating  this  much -desired  improvement  in 
the  near  future,  for  during  the  past  twelve  months  there  has  really 
been  very  little  change  in  the  condition  of  Argentine  affairs  in  spite 
of  the  revolution;  the  newspapers  of  1891,  like  those  of  1890,  are  full 
of  lamentations  and  recriminations ; La  Prensa  continues  to  reveal 
abuses  and  scandals,  and  to  warn  the  Argentines  of  the  wrath  to  come; 
in  short,  with  the  best  will  in  the  world  it  is  difficult  to  take  an  opti- 


436 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


mist  view  of  the  Argentine  situation.  The  hopes  of  the  country  and 
its  salvation  are  centred,  of  course,  in  its  natural  wealth.  Some  day 
the  turning-point  will  inevitably  be  reached,  and  the  tide  of  misfortune 
will  retire.  But  when  will  this  day  dawn? 

We  are,  perhaps,  justified  in  supposing  that  in  the  beginning  of 
1890  Dr.  Miguel  Juarez  Celman,  who  owed  his  election  as  President 
to  the  influence  of  his  brother-in-law,  General  Julio  A.  Roca,  was  more 
or  less  the  tool  of  a group  of  supporters  who,  to  serve  their  own  inter- 
ested ends,  persuaded  him  that  he  was  exceedingly  popular,  that  he 
was  uncontested  chief  of  the  nation,  and  that  he  could  and  ouo-ht  to 
retain  his  power  perpetually.  Celman,  in  short,  considered  himself  to 
be  virtually  dictator  of  the  Argentine.  By  the  usual  South-American 
means  of  centralized  power,  worked  out  into  the  most  extraordinary 
minutiae,  the  election  of  Deputies  for  the  National  Congress  at  the 
opening  of  the  year  had  been  a mere  farce,  both  in  the  capital  and  in 
nearly  all  the  provinces,  because  the  agents  of  Celman,  or,  in  other 
words,  the  official  party,  were  absolute  masters  of  the  voting  reg- 
isters. Public  opinion  was  thereby  disorganized,  and  violence  was 
anticipated  already,  inasmuch  as  the  scandals  of  the  Celman  adminis- 
tration were  manifest  and  innumerable,  and  the  public  discontent  was 
growing  more  and  more  unreserved  as  the  commercial  crisis  increased 
in  intensity.  The  quotation  of  gold  at  230  revealed  the  wretchedness 
of  the  financial  situation,  complicated  as  it  was  by  the  demoralization 
and  disorder  of  the  administration,  the  bad  state  of  the  banks,  and  by 
the  fact  that  various  provincial  banks,  notably  that  of  Cordoba,  had 
issued  enormous  quantities  of  spurious  notes  with  the  complicity  of 
the  Government.  In  the  course  of  subsequent  investigation  it  was 
ascertained  that,  by  order  of  President  Celman,  the  National  Bank  had 
been  obliged  to  take  up  these  clandestine  issues  of  notes,  which  for  the 
Bank  of  Cordoba  alone  reached  the  sum  of  $15,000,000. 

The  economical  and  political  crises  and  the  blindness  and  cyni- 
cism of  Celman  went  on  increasing  until  April,  when  a great  public 
meeting  was  called  to  constitute  the  general  directing  committee  of 
the  Union  Civica,  the  object  of  which  newly-founded  association  wa's 
to  unite  scattered  forces  and  to  create  and  organize  practically  a 
grand  opposition  party  against  the  President.  Twenty  thousand  men 
attended  this  meeting,  which  the  chief  orator,  General  Bartolome 
Mitre,  characterized  as  “ a meeting  of  popular  opposition  and  of 
wholesome  political  agitation.”  In  his  message  at  the  opening  of  Par- 


EPILOGUE. 


437 


liament,  on  May  ioth,  President  Celman  referred  with  real  or  feigned 
satisfaction  to  the  newly-founded  opposition  party,  whose  action  he 
hoped  would  contribute  to  the  better  government  of  the  country,  and 
at  the  same  time  he  made  all  sorts  of  promises  of  reform.  Subse- 
quent events  showed  that  these  promises  were  not  serious ; the 
Finance  Minister,  Senor  Uriburu,  who  had  accepted  the  responsi- 
bility of  a programme  of  repression  of  abuses  and  reorganization, 
soon  gave  in  his  resignation,  because  his  liberty  of  action  was  im- 
peded by  the  President  of  the  Republic ; week  after  week  the  politi- 
cal and  economical  situation  grew  more  and  more  hopeless ; com- 
merce was  paralyzed ; a serious  movement  of  emigration  began ; in 
short,  there  was  every  symptom  of  approaching  public  ruin,  when,  on 
July  19th,  a military  conspiracy  was  denounced,  and  the  revolution 
broke  out  a few  days  later,  on  July  26th,  with  the  support  of  part  of 
the  army  and  of  the  fleet,  and  with  every  prospect  of  success. 

The  history  of  this  revolution  is  as  mysterious  as  most  public 
contemporary  events  in  the  Argentine.  Why  did  the  revolutionary 
forces  remain  outside  the  town  in  the  Parque  de  Artilleria  ? Why 
did  they  not  attack  the  Government  House  and  get  possession  of  the 
person  of  the  President  ? Why  was  the  President  allowed  to  go  to 
and  fro  from  the  capital  to  Campana  and  San  Martin  ? Why  was 
there  suddenly  a certain  amount  of  aimless  bloodshed  ? Above  all, 
why,  on  July  29th,  did  the  revolution  surrender  to  the  Government  of 
Celman,  although  it  had  the  sympathy  of  the  nation  and  the  support 
of  the  greater  part  of  the  armed  forces  ? The  intervention  of  Gen- 
eral Julio  A.  Roca  as  the  deus  ex  machina  was  sufficient  to  suggest 
many  curious  hypotheses  to  those  who  are  at  all  familiar  with  recent 
Argentine  politics,  and  the  sudden  disappearance  of  the  revolution 
and  the  patching  up  of  the  old  Government  did  not  impress  calm 
observers  as  evidences  of  serious  purpose  on  either  side.  The  Gov- 
ernment was  triumphant ; the  revolution  was  vanquished ; but,  never- 
theless, the  Government  was  dead,  and  General  Roca  remained  arbiter 
of  the  situation.  What  intrigues  happened  between  the  moment  of 
the  suppression  of  the  revolution  and  the  resignation  of  President  Cel- 
man, the  brother-in-law  of  the  man  who  suppressed  it,  we  have  yet  to 
ascertain ; but  it  was  not  until  August  6th  that  General  Roca  was 
able  to  announce  to  Congress  that  Dr.  Juarez  Celman  had  resigned, 
and  that  the  Vice-President,  Dr.  Carlos  Pellegrini,  therefore  assumed 
the  supreme  power. 


438  the  spanish-american  republics. 

The  departure  of  Celman  was  the  signal  for  immense  public  re- 
joicing, and  for  a momentary  amelioration  of  the  commercial  and 
financial  situation ; the  new  ministry  and  its  professed  good  inten- 
tions seemed  to  promise  reparation  and  speedy  recovery ; gold  went 
down  70  points,  and  Argentine  paper  rose  in  the  European  mar- 
kets. But  the  sky  did  not  remain  clear  for  more  than  a day  or  two. 
Whether  Dr.  Pellegrini  was  honester  than  Celman  or  not,  it  was  out 
of  his  power  to  change  the  nature  of  Argentine  political  men  all  at 
once,  and  it  was  beyond  any  man’s  power  to  put  in  order  the  in- 
heritance of  pillage,  waste,  and  deficit  which  his  predecessor  in  office 
had  left  him.  The  national  revenues  had  diminished  — notably  the 
customs  duties.  Railways  and  other  public  works  had  been  sold  by 
Dr.  Celman,  and  the  proceeds,  deposited  in  the  Banco  Nacional,  had 
been  paid  out  to  speculators  on  the  stock  of  that  very  bank,  which, 
furthermore,  had  been  obliged  by  circumstances  to  suspend  the  pay- 
ment of  its  dividends.  Demoralization  and  fraud  were  evident  on  all 
sides.  Meanwhile,  the  Government  had  to  face  an  exterior  debt  of 
$122,000,000  (gold)  of  6,  5,  4B  3A,  and  3 per  cent.;  an  interior  debt  of 
$160,000,000  (gold);  the  Buenos  Ayres  municipal  debt  of  $24,000,000, 
and  the  guarantees  of  railways  and  other  enterprises  that  need  to  be 
paid  in  gold.  In  round  numbers,  a sum  of  $15,000,000  is  needed  to 
meet  these  debts  which  burden  the  national  credit,  to  say  nothing  of 
the  hypothecatory  schedules  whose  issue,  guaranteed  by  the  nation, 
exceeds  $100,000,000.  But  this  is  not  all;  the  provinces  of  the  Ar. 
gentine  Confederation  vied  with  each  other  under  the  Celman  admin- 
istration in  raising  loans  for  founding  banks  or  increasing  the  capital 
of  existing  banks : operations  which  have  been  disastrous,  and  ended 
in  almost  general  bankruptcy.  Some  of  the  provinces  will  be  able  to 
recover  themselves  in  a few  years,  thanks  to  their  natural  riches,  or 
thanks  to  the  good  use  made  of  some  of  the  money  borrowed.  Men- 
doza, for  instance,  has  planted  millions  of  vines  which  will  shortly  be 
in  full  yield.  But  in  other  provinces  the  money  borrowed  has  simply 
been  squandered  or  appropriated  by  individuals  possessing  official  in- 
fluence ; and  in  some  places  the  expenses  increased  during  the  years 
1887-90  to  such  an  extent  that  their  liabilities  now  represent  as  much 
as  fifty  times  their  assets.  At  the  end  of  1890  the  debt  of  all  the  Ar- 
gentine provinces  together  was  calculated  to  amount  to  $200,000,000 
(gold),  without  counting  about  $300,000,000  (gold)  in  schedules  of  the 
Bancos  Hipotecarios. 


EPILOGUE. 


439 


Since  August,  1890,  the  Argentine  Republic  has  been  struggling 
against  its  political  and  financial  difficulties,  but  still  living  and  pro- 
ducing, thanks  to  the  natural  wealth  of  its  soil — that  soil  which  will 
be  its  ultimate  salvation.  The  Union  Civica  has  greatly  enlarged  its 
sphere  of  action  since  the  revolution,  and  has  continued  its  “whole- 
some political  agitation”  in  view  of  the  presidential  election  of  1892. 
Dr„  Pellegrini,  in  his  difficult  post  of  president,  has  not,  perhaps,  ful- 
filled the  hopes  that  were  placed  in  him ; he  has  even  been  dimin- 
ished to  the  role  of  a tool  of  General  Roca ; and  his  ministers,  like 
those  of  Celman,  have  on  certain  occasions  given  in  their  resignation 
because  their  liberty  of  action  in  conformity  with  public  opinion  has 
been  impeded.  Meanwhile,  the  partisans  of  Celman  have  continued 
from  time  to  time  to  violate  order,  especially  in  the  province  of  Cor- 
doba. The  province  of  Entre  Rios  has  been  for  months  in  a dis- 
turbed and  almost  revolutionary  condition.  Other  provinces  have  ex- 
perienced crises  of  political  effervescence,  which  have  kept  alive  those 
germs  of  civil  war  that  have  lurked  in  the  South-American  republics 
ever  since  they  conquered  their  liberty,  three-quarters  of  a century 
ago.  South  of  the  equator  the  ballot-box  seems  to  be  inevitably  sprin- 
kled with  the  blood  of  citizens.  The  Argentine  Republic  has  had  an 
experience  of  sixty  years  of  politico-electoral  warfare;  party  politics 
and  personal  ambition  of  a political  nature  have  caused  more  blood- 
shed than  the  conquest  of  liberty  itself;  and  yet  the  political  educa- 
tion of  the  nation  does  not  seem  to  make  any  progress,  nor  the  pa- 
triotism of  individuals  to  acquire  any  rational  development.  The 
prosperity  of  the  Argentine  Republic  has  been  impeded  in  the  past 
by  the  passions,  the  political  ambitions,  and  the  want  of  morality  of  its 
criollo  sons.  Its  prosperity  in  the  future  can  only  be  impeded  by 
these  same  elements,  for  the  riches  of  the  land  are  inexhaustible,  the 
industry  and  enterprise  of  the  immigrant  population  beyond  question, 
and  the  results  obtained  even  in  these  recent  days  of  trouble  and 
crisis  are  enormous.  As  for  the  public  credit  of  the  Argentine,  the 
arrangements  made  in  February,  1891,  with  the  London  Bankers’ 
Committee  give  the  Treasury  three  years  of  breathing  time,  during 
which  period  it  will  be  able  to  create  new  resources,  provided  the 
national  and  commercial  development  of  the  Republic  be  aided  by  ad- 
ministrative reform  and  genuine  political  progress.  As  regards  these 
two  desiderata , however,  we  must  not  be  too  sanguine.  The  character 
of  the  South-American  criollos  will  not  change  greatly  in  three  years’ 


44© 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


and  it  is  not  in  three  years  that  the  young  Republic  will  be  able  to 
repair  the  unparalleled  and  incredible  mistakes  of  the  past  decade. 

Meanwhile,  the  current  of  immigration  which  developed  the  im- 
mense wealth  of  the  Argentine  within  the  past  twenty  years  has 
ceased  altogether,  after  having  carried  to  the  country  during  the 
thirty-four  years  from  1857-90  a total  of  1,264,000  persons,  who 
have  been  incorporated  in  the  working  population  of  the  Republic. 
Of  this  number  60  per  cent,  are  Italians,  17  per  cent.  Spanish,  10  per 
cent.  French,  2 per  cent.  English. 

The  immigration  statistics  for  the  year  1890  show  how  great  and 
immediate  was  the  effect  of  the  crisis;  thus: 

In  1889  the  total  number  of  immigrants  was  260,909,  and  of  emi- 
grants 40,649,  thus  leaving  a balance  in  favor  of  immigration  of  220,260. 

In  1890  the  total  number  of  immigrants  was  127,473,  and  of 
emigrants  77,918,  thus  leaving  a balance  in  favor  of  immigration  of 
49.553-  1 

For  the  moment  it  appears  that  the  current  of  European  emigra- 
tion has  been  diverted  to  Brazil. 

In  our  chapters  on  Chili  we  predicted  a struggle  between  Presi- 
dent Balmaceda  and  the  Congress,  but  did  not  foresee  that  this  con- 
flict would  take  the  form  of  a civil  war  of  singular  ferocity. 

This  war  has  a politico- electoral  origin.  It  is  a typical  South- 
American  war,  because  its  immediate  causes  are  national  vitality  and 
development,  the  manifold  ambitions  of  personal  or  doctrinal  parties, 
the  natural  propensity  of  the  men  in  power  to  extend  the  faculties 
granted  to  them  by  their  Constitutions,  and  a certain  remnant  of 
Spanish  pride  and  hot-bloodedness,  for  the  Chilians  are  chiefly  of  An- 
dalusian origin.  The  Chilian  revolution,  however,  presents  this  pe- 
culiarity: that  it  is  the  first  open  conflict  in  South  America  between 
the  Parliament  and  the  executive  power  — a conflict  which  history 
represents  as  being  almost  indispensable  for  cementing  liberty  in  coun- 
tries of  representative  government.  Such  a conflict  was  not  provided 
for  by  the  Constitution  of  1833,  and  consequently  the  moment  these 
two  powers  failed  to  come  to  an  understanding  by  discussion  and  rea- 
soning, the  only  resource  left  was  war.  The  Chilian  Parliament  and 
the  Chilian  President  are  struggling  each  for  constitutional  preroga- 
tives which  affect  the  whole  political  organization  of  the  Republic. 

President  Balmaceda,  after  a series  of  ministerial  changes,  made 


EPILOGUE. 


441 


with  a view  to  satisfying  the  aspirations  of  the  parliamentary  groups, 
expounded  his  programme  to  the  country  through  the  intermediary  of 
his  Minister,  Senor  Ibanez,  at  a public  banquet  in  February,  1890. 
The  Minister,  in  his  speech,  declared  that  “the  centralizing  and  ab- 
sorbing power  which  constitutes  the  essence  of  present  institutions 
no  longer  corresponds  to  the  aspirations  for  true  liberty  which  now 
fill  all  hearts.  Consequently — and  this  is  the  basis  of  our  policy — it 
is  necessary  to  demolish  those  institutions  which  hinder  the  establish- 
ment of  a government  of  real  liberty,  and  to  have  done  once  for  all 
with  personal  parties.”  Senor  Ibanez  then  went  on  to  enumerate  the 
general  bases  of  this  projected  reform,  which  indicated  a visibly  fed- 
eralist tendency.  But  the  promise  of  reform  came  just  at  the  mo- 
ment when  preparations  were  being  made  for  the  forthcoming  presi- 
dential election,  and,  given  the  long-existing  habits  of  Government 
interference  in  this  operation,  and  given  also  the  fact— or,  at  any  rate, 
the  belief — that  Senor  Balmaceda  had  his  official  candidate  ready  in 
the  person  of  Senor  Sanfuentes,  the  patriotic  and  disinterested  dec- 
larations of  Minister  Ibanez  were  not  received  with  enthusiasm  or 
even  confidence.  During  the  next  few  weeks  the  instability  of  cabi- 
nets was  an  index  of  the  agitation  of  the  parliamentary  parties.  On 
May  30th  Senor  Sanfuentes,  who  had  been  called  upon  by  President 
Balmaceda  to  form  a new  cabinet  that  would  have  the  confidence  of 
the  public,  declared  that  his  ministry  meant  “the  irrevocable  and  ab- 
solute elimination  of  his  person  ” as  candidate  for  the  presidency. 

When  the  Congress  was  opened  in  June,  President  Balmaceda 
expounded  frankly  his  project  of  radical  constitutional  reform.  He 
declared  that  “ the  Constitution  which  organized  the  Unitarian,  cen- 
tralized, and  absorbent  Republic  was  dictated  by  a desire  to  guaran- 
tee public  order  and  the  principle  of  authority that  “ in  the  course 
of  years  the  constitutional  influence  of  the  executive  power  had  gone 
on  losing  strength  through  the  practice  and  influence  of  the  legisla- 
tive power,  and  the  Chilians  had  come  to  believe  in  a pretended  par- 
liamentary regime;”  that  “ the  pretended  parliamentary  government 
of  the  Republic  invariably  tends  to  the- dictatorship  of  the  Congress, 
just  as  the  Unitarian  Government,  centralized  and  provided  with  pow- 
erful influences  to  strengthen  the  principle  of  authority,  tends  to  the 
consecration  of  legal  dictatorship.  I do  not  accept  for  my  country  the 
dictatorship  of  Congress , nor  am  I in  favor  of  the  dictatorship  of  the 
executive  power'.' 


442 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


The  above  declarations  show  at  once  the  political  foundations  of 
the  revolution  and  the  excessive  temperament  of  Senor  Balmaceda, 
who,  being  at  loggerheads  with  an  omnipotent  Congress,  challenged 
it  face  to  face  by  categorically  denying  its  dearest  prerogatives.  Con- 
gress replied  by  a vote  of  censure  against  the  Cabinet;  and  finally 
the  Chamber  of  Deputies,  in  virtue  of  Article  72  of  its  rules,  and  in 
exercise  of  the  power  conferred  upon  it  by  the  Constitution,  resolved 
to  delay  the  discussion  of  the  budget  “ until  the  President  of  the  Re- 
public should  appoint  a ministry  deserving  the  confidence  of  the 
National  Congress.” 


As  the  Executive  in  Chili  has  not  the  power  to  dissolve  Congress, 
such  a situation  as  the  above  could  only  end  by  the  submission  of  the 
Executive  or  of  the  Congress,  or  by  an  armed  struggle,  which  the 
opinion  and  the  force  of  the  country  would  decide.  Finally,  after 
some  months  of  agitation  and  anxiety,  Congress,  in  presence  of  the 
manifest  dictatorial  intentions  of  Senor  Balmaceda,  resolved  to  resort 
to  arms,  and  in  January,  1891,  the  revolution  began,  with  the  support 
of  a part  of  the  army,  of  all  the  fleet,  and  of  the  more  enlightened  por- 
tion of  the  population.  For  a peculiarity  of  the  Chilian  revolution  is 
that  it  is  not  a popular  movement ; on  the  contrary,  its  leaders  and 
chief  partisans  are  the  men  of  the  highest  culture  in  the  country,  and 
even  of  the  greatest  wealth.  The  revolutionary  party  seized  the 
northern  provinces ; the  President  held  the  centre  of  the  territory. 
The  former  party  was  strong  by  sea,  the  latter  was  puissant  on  land ; 
and  so  the  struggle  from  the  beginning  assumed  the  expectant  char- 
acter of  a fight  between  a cat  and  a fish ; and  at  the  same  time  it 
promised  to  be  very  prolonged,  as  both  sides  disposed  of  great  wealth, 
the  President  having  at  his  disposal  the  public  resources,  and  the  rev- 
olutionaries the  resources  of  their  numerous  wealthy  partisans. 

Thus,  after  fifty-eight  years  of  uninterrupted  legality,  the  political 
existence  of  Chili  became  darkened  with  the  horror  of  civil  strife,  and 
by  his  manifesto  of  January  1,  1891,  President  Balmaceda  incurred 
the  stupendous  responsibility  -of  having  lighted  the  torch  of  war  that 
has  since  so  terribly  ravaged  his  country.  Up  to  January  1st  Presi- 
dent Balmaceda  did  not  exceed  his  legal  prerogatives.  The  Chilian 
Constitution  of  1833  gave  great  power  to  the  President  and  still 
greater  powers  to  the  Parliament ; and  for  that  reason  the  political 
institutions  and  the  organization  of  power  in  Chili  have  been  justly 


I 


EPILOGUE. 


443 


compared  to  those  of  the  British  monarchy  rather  than  to  the  repre- 
sentative system  of  the  United  States.  The  Chilians  have  always 
professed  unfailing  attachment  to  these  institutions,  which,  after  all, 
had  made  them  the  most  solidly  organized  and  the  most  homogeneous 
and  united  country  in  South  America.  Nevertheless,  this  old  Consti- 
tution in  its  original  form  made  public  affairs  and  public  offices  almost 
the  exclusive  monopoly  of  the  upper  classes  of  society.  Furthermore, 
thanks  to  its  dispositions  and  to  subsequent  laws,  Congress  came  to 
be  a simple  creature  of  the  Chief  of  the  State.  In  this  manner  the 
President  added  to  his  own  prerogatives  all  those  of  the  legislative ; 
and  as  he  also  appointed  the  judges  and  the  members  of  the  courts  of 
justice,  he  really  resumed  in  his  person  the  executive,  the  legislative, 
and  the  judicial  powers.  In  such  conditions  a president  was  inevita- 
bly re-elected;  and  after  the  ten  years  of  power  which  he  thus  succeed- 
ed in  exercising,  he  also  inevitably  appointed  his  successor. 

However,  after  the  military  governments  of  Prieto  and  Bulnes, 
when  the  aristocratic  Constitution  of  1833  had  produced  the  result 
for  which  it  had  been  designed — namely,  to  rid  Chili  of  factions  and 
revolts — the  civil  government  of  Don  Manuel  Montt  followed,  and 
then  began  to  be  heard  mighty  clamoring  for  the  reform  of  the  Con- 
stitution. After  the  government  of  Perez,  the  successor  of  Montt, 
the  Constitution  of  1833  was  reformed  in  a more  liberal  and  demo- 
cratic sense.  The  re-election  of  a president  was  prohibited,  except 
after  an  interval  of  one  term ; the  suffrage  was  made  almost  univer- 
sal; the  permanency  and  independence  of  the  judges  was  obtained, 
together  with  many  other  modifications  of  various  kinds,  which  gave 
to  the  masses  a due  influence  in  the  direction  of  the  affairs  of  the  na- 
tion, and  eliminated  from  the  Constitution  of  1833  its  absolute  and 
oligarchical  character.  With  a view  to  completing  this  work  of  con- 
stitutional reform,  the  great  business  of  the  Chilian  Congress  of  late 
years  has  been  to  deprive  the  President  of  the  Republic  of  a great 
part  of  his  omnipotency,  and  to  strengthen  at  the  same  time  the  in- 
dependence and  the  influence  of  the  Parliament.  In  spite  of  the  re- 
sistance of  successive  presidents,  the  patriotic  tenacity  of  the  Congress 
gradually  achieved  splendid  results,  and  the  passing  of  the  laws  on 
parliamentary  incompatibilities  thenceforward  prevented  the  Presi- 
dent from  packing  Congress  with  intcndentes , governors,  and  employes 
who  were  his  creatures,  and  whose  servile  and  interested  votes  over- 
whelmed those  of  independent  senators  and  deputies.  Thus,  parlia- 


444 


THE  SPANISH-AMERICAN  REPUBLICS. 


mentary  government  promised  to  become  a reality  and  a precious 
conquest  of  Chilian  liberty. 

Finally,  we  may  remark  that  from  the  day  when  Sehor  Balmaceda 
became  a candidate  for  the  presidency  he  declared  in  all  his  mani- 
festoes his  intention  of  governing  according  to  the  strictest  rules  of 
the  parliamentary  system ; that  is  to  say,  listening  carefully  to  the  in- 
dications of  the  country  and  of  the  majority  of  its  representatives  in 
Congress.  When  he  was  elected  he  renewed  his  protestations.  Dur- 
ing the  first  three  years  of  office  he  remained  faithful  to  his  profession 
of  faith  and  constantly  reiterated  it ; but  when  he  wished  to  imitate 
his  predecessors  and  nominate  his  successor,  although  he  did  not  pos- 
sess the  mighty  legal  machinery  of  which  his  predecessors  disposed, 
Senor  Balmaceda  found  that  the  members  of  Congress  began  to  show 
him  the  cold  shoulder.  His  favorite,  and  his  associate  in  financial  en- 
terprises, Senor  Sanfuentes,  was  far  from  having  the  support  of  the 
majority  of  Congress.  Repeated  ministerial  crises  demonstrated  this 
fact,  and  at  the  same  time  the  unpopularity  of  the  President’s  con- 
duct. For  a while  there  seemed  a possibility  of  an  understanding; 
President  Balmaceda  appeared  disposed  to  confess  his  mistake  and  to 
act  in  conformity  with  the  spirit  of  his  age  ; but,  finally,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  evil  spirit  of  tyranny  and  obscurantism  triumphed,  and  he 
plunged  his  country  into  civil  war  rather  than  profit  by  the  lessons 
which  countless  martyrs  of  liberty  have  written  with  their  life’s  blood. 


THE  END. 


VALUABLE  WORKS 

OF 

TRAVEL  AND  ADVENTURE. 


"Warner’s  Southern  California. 

Our  Italy.  An  Exposition  of  the  Climate  and  Resources  of  Southern  California.  By 
Charles  Dudley  Warner.  Illustrated.  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $2  50. 

"Warner’s  South  and  West. 

Studies  in  the  South  and  West,  with  Comments  on  Canada.  By  Charles  Dudley 
Warner.  Post  8vo,  Half  Leather,  $1  75. 

NordhofF’s  Peninsular  California. 

Some  Account  of  the  Climate,  Soil,  Productions,  and  Present  Condition  chiefly  of  the 
Northern  Half  of  Lower  California.  By  Charles  Nordhoff.  Maps  and  Illustra- 
tions. Square  8vo,  Cloth,  $ 1 00;  Paper,  75  cents. 

The  Capitals  of  Spanish  America. 

The  Capitals  of  Spanish  America.  By  William  Eleroy  Curtis.  With  a Colored 
Map  and  358  Illustrations.  8vo,  Cloth,  Extra,  $3  50. 

Charnay’s  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World. 

The  Ancient  Cities  of  the  New  World  : being  Voyages  and  Explorations  in  Mexico  and 
Central  America,  from  1857  to  1882.  By  Desire  Charnay.  Translated  from  the 
French  by  J.  Gonino  and  Helen  S.  Conant.  Introduction  by  Allen  Thorndike 
Rice.  209  Illustrations  and  a Map.  Royal  8vo,  Ornamental  Cloth,  Uncut  Edges,  Gilt 
Top,  $6  00. 

Hearn’s  West  Indies. 

Two  Years  in  the  French  West  Indies.  By  Lafcadio  Hearn.  Copiously  Illustrated. 
Post  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $2  00. 

Cesnola’s  Cyprus. 

Cyprus:  Its  Ancient  Cities,  Tombs,  and  Temples.  A Narrative  of  Researches  and  Ex- 
cavations during  Ten  Years'  Residence  in  that  Island.  By  General  Louis  Palma  di 
Cesnola.  With  Maps  and  Illustrations.  8vo,  Cloth,  Gilt  Top  and  Uncut  Edges, 
§7  50  ; Half  Calf,  $10  00. 

Schliemann’s  Ilios. 

Ilios,  the  City  and  Country  of  the  Trojans.  The  Results  of  Researches  and  Discover- 
ies on  the  Site  of  Troy  and  throughout  the  Troad  in  the  years  1 87 1— ’72— ’73— ’78— ’79 ; in- 
cluding an  Autobiography  of  the  Author.  By  Dr.  Henry  Schliemann,  F.S.A., 
F.R.I.  With  a Preface,  Appendixes,  and  Notes.  With  Maps,  Plans,  and  about  1800 
Illustrations.  Imperial  8vo,  Cloth,  $7  50;  Half  Morocco,  $10  00. 

Schliemann’s  Troja. 

Troja.  Results  of  the  Latest  Researches  and  Discoveries  on  the  Site  of  Homer’s  Troy, 
and  in  the  Heroic  Tumuli  and  other  Sites,  made  in  the  year  1882,  and  a Narrative  of  a 
Journey  in  the  Troad  in  1881.  By  Dr.  Henry  Schliemann,  Author  of  “ Ilios,”  etc. 
Preface  by  Professor  A.  H.  Sayce.  With  150  Wood-cuts  and  4 Maps  and  Plans.  8vo, 
Cloth,  $5  00 ; Half  Morocco,  $7  50. 


2 


Valuable  Works  of  Travel  and  Adventure. 


Stanley's  Congo,  and  the  Founding  of  its  Free  State. 

A Story  of  Work  and  Exploration.  By  Henry  M.  Stanley.  Dedicated  by  Special 
Permission  to  H.  M.  the  King  of  the  Belgians.  In  2 vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  with  over  One 
Hundred  full-page  and  Smaller  Illustrations,  two  large  Maps,  and  several  smaller  ones. 
Cloth,  $7  50;  Sheep,  §9  50;  Half  Morocco,  $12  00. 

Stanley's  Through  the  Dark  Continent. 

Through  the  Dark  Continent ; or.  The  Sources  of  the  Nile,  Around  the  Great  Lakes  of 
Equatorial  Africa,  and  Down  the  Livingstone  River  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  By  Henry 
M.  Stanley.  With  149  Illustrations  and  10  Maps.  2 vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $7  50;  Sheep, 
$9  50;  Half  Morocco,  $12  00. 

Stanley's  Coomassie  and  Magdala. 

Coomassie  and  Magdala;  a Story  of  Two  British  Campaigns  in  Africa.  By  Henry  M. 
Stanley.  With  Maps  and  Illustrations.  8vo,  Cloth,  S3  50. 

Livingstone's  Last  Journals. 

The  Last  Journals  of  David  Livingstone,  in  Central  Africa,  from  1865  to  his  death. 
Continued  by  a Narrative  of  his  Last  Moments  and  Sufferings,  obtained  from  his  faith- 
ful Servants  Chuma  and  Susi.  By  Horace  Waller,  F.R.G.S.  With  Maps  and  Illus- 
trations. 8vo,  Cloth,  S5  00  ; Sheep,  $6  00  ; Half  Calf,  S7  25. 

Livingstone's  Expedition  to  the  Zambesi. 

Narrative  of  an  Expedition  to  the  Zambesi  and  its  Tributaries;  and  of  the  Discover)' 
of  the  Lakes  Shirwa  and  Nyassa.  1858-1864.  By  David  and  Charles  Livingstone. 
With  Maps  and  Illustrations.  8vo,  Cloth,  $5  00;  Sheep,  $5  50. 

Du  Chaillu's  Equatorial  Africa. 

Adventures  in  the  Great  Forest  of  Equatorial  Africa,  and  the  Country  of  the  Dwarfs. 
By  Paul  B.  Du  Chaillu.  Abridged  and  Popidar  Edition.  With  Map  and  Illustra- 
tions. Post  8vo,  Cloth,  Si  75- 

Du  Chaillu's  Ashango-Land. 

A Journey  to  Ashango- Land,  and  Further  Penetration  into  Equatorial  Africa.  By 
Paul  B.  Du  Chaillu.  Illustrated.  8vo,  Cloth,  S5  00;  Sheep,  $5  50;  Half  Calf,  S7  25. 

Du  Chaillu's  Land  of  the  Midnight  Sun. 

The  Land  of  the  Midnight  Sun.  Summer  and  Winter  Journeys  through  Sweden,  Nor- 
way, Lapland,  and  Northern  Finland.  By  Paul  B.  Du  Chaillu.  With  Map  and  235 
• Illustrations.  In  Two  Volumes.  8vo,  Cloth,  $7  50;  Half  Calf,  Si  2 00. 

Thomson's  Southern  Palestine  and  Jerusalem. 

The  Land  and  the  Book:  Southern  Palestine  and  Jerusalem.  By  William  M.  Thom- 
son, D.D.,  Forty-five  Years  a Missionary  in  Syria  and  Palestine.  140  Illustrations  and 
Maps.  Square  8vo,  Cloth,  $6  00;  Sheep,  $7  00;  Half  Morocco,  $8  50;  Full  Morocco, 
Gilt  Edges,  $10  00. 

Thomson’s  Central  Palestine  and  Phoenicia. 

The  Land  and  the  Book:  Central  Palestine  and  Phoenicia,  By  William  M. Thom- 
son, D.D.  130  Illustrations  and  Maps.  Square  8vo,  Cloth,  $6  00;  Sheep,  $7  00;  Half 
Morocco,  $8  50;  Full  Morocco,  Gilt  Edges,  $10  00. 

Thomson's  Lebanon,  Damascus,  and  Beyond  Jordan. 

The  Land  and  the  Book:  Lebanon,  Damascus,  and  Beyond  Jordan.  By  William  M. 
Thomson,  D.D.  147  Illustrations  and  Maps.  Square  8vo,  Cloth,  $6  00;  Sheep,  $7  00; 
Half-Morocco,  S8  50;  Full  Morocco,  Gilt  Edges,  $10  00. 

The  Land  and  the  Book.  ( Popular  Edition .) 

Comprising  the  above  three  volumes.  8vo,  Cloth,  §9  00.  (Sold  i>i  Sets  only.) 


Valuable  Works  of  Travel  and  Adventure. 


3 


Thomson’s  Voyage  of  the  “Challenger.” 

The  Voyage  of  the  “Challenger.”  The  Atlantic : An  Account  of  the  General  Results 
of  the  Voyage  during  the  Year  1873  and  the  Early  Part  of  the  Year  1876.  By  Sir  C. 
Wyville  Thomson,  F.R.S.  With  a Portrait  of  the  Author,  many  Colored  Maps,  and 
Illustrations.  2 vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $12  00. 

Bridgman’s  Algeria. 

Winters  in  Algeria.  Written  and  Illustrated  by  Frederick  Arthur  Bridgman. 
Square  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  $2  50. 

Pennells’  Hebrides. 

Our  Journey  to  the  Hebrides.  By  Joseph  Pennell  and  Elizabeth  Robins  Pen- 
nel.  Illustrated.  Post  8vo,  Cloth,  Ornamental,  Si  75- 

Schweinfurth’s  Heart  of  Africa. 

The  Heart  of  Africa;  or,  Three  Years’  Travels  and  Adventures  in  the  Unexplored  Re- 
gions of  the  Centre  of  Africa.  From  1868  to  1871.  By  Dr.  Georg  Schweinfurth. 
Translated  by  Ellen  E.  Frewer.  With  an  Introduction  by  Winwood  Reade.  Illus- 
trated by  about  130  Wood-cuts  from  Drawings  made  by  the  Author,  and  with  Two 
Maps.  2 vols.,  8vo,  Cloth,  $8  00. 

Speke’s  Africa. 

Journal  of  the  Discovery  of  the  Source  of  the  Nile.  By  John  Hanning  Speke. 
With  Maps  and  Portraits  and  numerous  Illustrations.  8vo,  Cloth,  $4  00;  Sheep,  $4  50. 

Baker’s  Ismailia. 

Ismailla;  a Narrative  of  the  Expedition  to  Central  Africa  for  the  Suppression  of  the 
Slave-trade,  organized  by  Ismail,  Khedive  of  Egypt.  By  Sir  Samuel  White 
Baker,  Pasha,  M.A.,  F.R.S.,  F.R.G.S.  With  Maps,  Portraits,  and  upwards  of  Fifty 
full-page  Illustrations.  8vo,  Cloth,  $5  00;  Half  Calf,  $7  25. 

Bishop’s  Mexico,  California,  and  Arizona. 

Being  a New  and  Revised  Edition  of  “Old  Mexico  and  Her  Lost  Provinces.”  By 
William  Henry  Bishop.  With  numerous  Illustrations,  izmo,  Cloth,  $2  00. 

Wallace's  Malay  Archipelago. 

The  Malay  Archipelago;  the  Land  of  the  Orang-Utan  and  the  Bird  of  Paradise.  A 
Narrative  of  Travel,  1854-62.  With  Studies  of  Man  and  Nature.  By  Alfred  Russel 
Wallace.  With  Maps  and  numerous  Illustrations.  Crown  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

Long’s  Central  Africa. 

Central  Africa:  Naked  Truths  of  Naked  People.  An  Account  of  Expeditions  to  the 
Lake  Victoria  Nyanza  and  the  Makraka  Niam-Niam,  West  of  the  Bahr-El-Abiad  (White 
Nile).  By  Col.  C.  Chaille  Long,  of  the  Egyptian  staff.  Illustrated  from  Col.  Long’s 
own  Sketches.  With  Map.  8vo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

Miss  Scidmore’s  Japan. 

Jinrikisha  Days  in  Japan.  By  Eliza  Ruhamah  Scidmore.  Illustrated.  Post  8vo, 
Cloth,  Ornamental,  $2  00. 

Miss  Bisland's  Trip  Around  the  World. 

A Flying  Trip  Around  the  World.  By  Elizabeth  Bisland.  With  Portrait.  i6mo, 
Cloth,  Ornamental,  §1  25. 


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By  THEODORE 


CHILD 


Art  and  Criticism. 

Monographs  and  Studies.  By  Theodore  Child.  Profusely  Illustrated.  Large  Svo, 
Ornamental  Cloth,  $6  oo.  (fust  Ready.) 

Spanish-American  Republics. 

By  Theodore  Child.  Profusely  Illustrated  by  T.  de  Thulstrup,  Frederic  Rem- 
ington, William  Hamilton  Gibson,  W.  A.  Rogers,  H.  Bolton  Jones,  George 
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Large  8vo,  Ornamental  Cloth,  (fast  Ready.) 

This  series — the  result  of  seven  months’  travel  in  South  America,  and  unsurpassed  by 
any  modern  journalistic  undertaking — is  a full  exposition  of  the  five  Spanish-American  Re- 
publics : their  political,  commercial,  industrial,  and  educational  situation  and  outlook ; 
giving,  also,  an  exceptionally  faithful  and  interesting  portraiture  of  the  manners  and  cus- 
toms of  the  people,  Spanish  and  native. 

The  Tsar  and  His  People; 

Or,  Social  Life  in  Russia.  Papers  by  Theodore  Child,  Vicomte  de  Vogue, 
Clarence  Cook,  and  Vassili  Verestchagin.  Profusely  Illustrated.  Square  Svo. 
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In  the  ample  literature  concerned  with  the  Russia  of  to-day,  there  is  probably  now  no 
more  attractive  volume,  externally  and  internally,  than  this  collection  of  papers  relating  to 
its  social  and  artistic  aspects. — Literary  World,  Boston. 

Summer  Holidays. 

By  Theodore  Child.  Post  8vo,  Cloth,  $i  25. 

A delightful  book  of  notes  of  European  travel.  . . . Mr.  Child  is  an  art-critic,  and  takes 
us  into  the  picture  galleries,  but  we  never  get  any  large  and  painful  doses  of  art  informa- 
tion from  this  skilful  and  discriminating  guide.  There  is  not  a page  in  his  book  that  ap- 
proaches to  dull  reading. — N.  Y.  Sun. 

Delicate  Feasting. 

By  Theodore  Child.  Post  8vo,  Cloth,  $1  25. 

It  lays  the  foundation  for  a liberal  education  in  the  art  of  cooking.  Many  a house- 
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moral  well  being. — Philadelphia  Inquirer. 


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